This publication contains the written answers to questions tabled by Members. The content of the responses is as received at the time from the relevant Minister or representative of the Assembly Commission and has not been subject to the official reporting process or changed in any way.

Friday 8 October 2010

Written Answers to Questions

Office of the First Minister and deputy First Minister
Agriculture and Rural Development
Culture, Arts and Leisure
Education
Employment and Learning
Enterprise, Trade and Investment
Environment
Finance and Personnel
Health, Social Services and Public Safety
Justice
Regional Development
Social Development
Assembly Commission
Revised Written Answers

OFFICE OF THE FIRST MINISTER AND DEPUTY FIRST MINISTER

New York Stock Exchange's New Premises in Belfast

Mr S Anderson asked the First Minister and deputy First Minister for their assessment of the potential economic benefits of the New York Stock Exchange's new premises in Belfast.

(AQW 549/11)

First Minister and deputy First Minister (Mr P Robinson and Mr M McGuinness): The New York Stock Exchange’s new premises in Belfast reflects its confidence in Northern Ireland and is an example of the mutual benefit to be gained from ongoing engagement between those of us involved in economic development and key investors. It sends a strong message to other potential investors, that this is an exceptional place to do business. This investment is an example of how, by building strong relationships with potential investors, we increase the chances of attracting world-class companies to set up and develop their operations here, which is vital to growing our economy. We attended the official opening of NYSE Technologies’ new Belfast premises at Adelaide Exchange, on 16^th September 2010. This expansion of Belfast operations will create up to 400 high-quality technical, operational and corporate jobs, over a 3 to 4 year period. Invest NI has agreed to provide financial assistance of £9,578,364 to the expansion project.

Capital Projects in the North Down Area

Mr P Weir asked the First Minister and deputy First Minister for an update on all their Department's capital projects in the North Down area that (i) were or will be commenced or completed in 2010/11; (ii) are planned for 2011/12; and (iii) have been postponed because of budgetary constraints.

(AQW 596/11)

First Minister and deputy First Minister: OFMDFM is not currently undertaking any capital projects in the North Down area in 2010-11, nor are any planned in 2011-12. No such projects have been postponed for any reason.

Invest NI Business Park at Melmount Road, Strabane

Mr P Doherty asked the First Minister and deputy First Minister whether the Planning Appeals Commission will reconsider its decision to retain the designation of the Adria site in Strabane for industrial use only, in light of the recent announcement that planning permission has been granted for an 11.5 hectare Invest NI Business Park at Melmount Road, Strabane.

(AQW 668/11)

First Minister and deputy First Minister: The Planning Appeals Commission is an independent tribunal Non-Departmental Public Body. Given its independent tribunal status, its Chief Commissioner has been asked to provide a response directly to you, and we understand that she has written to you in the following terms:

"I have been asked to provide you with information requested in the above Assembly Question.

The Commission issued a decision to refuse this appeal on 26 October 2009. Once a decision has been made on an appeal, the Commission cannot review or revise its determination. PAC decisions may be challenged by application for a judicial review to the High Court. However, this must be done promptly or in any event within three months of the appeal decision.

I would be happy to provide any further information you require arising out of this response or to meet with you to discuss the matter if that would be more suitable."

Child Poverty Strategy

Mr D McKay asked the First Minister and deputy First Minister to outline any work their Department is currently undertaking in relation to child poverty and developing a Child Poverty Strategy.

(AQW 673/11)

First Minister and deputy First Minister: The Child Poverty Act 2010, that gained Royal Assent on 25 March this year, requires us to develop three-year child poverty strategies that will lead to the eradication of child poverty by 2020. The first strategy will set out the actions that all government departments are taking to contribute to meeting the targets in the Act and must be laid before the Assembly by 25 March 2011.

Formal consultation on the proposed strategy is planned for October 2010. In advance of this, however, our officials issued, as part of a pre-consultation exercise, a discussion paper entitled "Starting the Discussion". External stakeholders and government departments were asked to consider the issues raised in the document and responses are being considered at present.

Junior Ministers launched a conference on Thursday 23 September 2010 as part of the pre-consultation process and a conference report will be published. The event identified some of the key issues affecting children experiencing poverty, and its findings and recommendations will underpin and inform the formal consultation document we intend to issue in October 2010.

Officials have met with numerous organisations, individuals and groups as part of the pre-consultation process and will publish a communications strategy for the formal consultation process shortly. The three strands of the strategy will cover children and young people, parents and organisations.

The formal consultation process will run until late December 2010/early January 2011. There will be a number of stakeholder events at various locations including events and engagements specifically for children and young people and for parents.

Equality Act 2010

Dr S Farry asked the First Minister and deputy First Minister, given that the Equality Act 2010 is due to come into operation in October 2010, for their assessment of the differences between equality law in Northern Ireland and that in England and Wales; and what plans they have to address these differences.

(AQW 724/11)

First Minister and deputy First Minister: No formal assessment has been carried out by OFMDFM on the differences between equality law here and that in England and Wales.

Whilst no policy decision has been taken regarding amending Equality legislation, the Office of the First Minister and deputy First Minister continues to legislate in order to provide legal protection against discrimination and to promote equality of opportunity.

New York Stock Exchange Office in Belfast

Mr P Weir asked the First Minister and deputy First Minister for their assessment of the potential economic benefits of the New York Stock Exchange office in Belfast.

(AQW 772/11)

First Minister and deputy First Minister: We refer the member to the answer to AQW 549/11 which was answered on 7 October 2010.

Outstanding Executive Business

Mr G Savage asked the First Minister and deputy First Minister to outline what progress has been made on the Junior Ministers' working group on outstanding Executive business; and how many times the group has met.

(AQW 794/11)

First Minister and deputy First Minister: The content of Executive papers and all aspects of Executive business are confidential.

Outstanding Executive Business

Mr G Savage asked the First Minister and deputy First Minister (i) if they will publish the programme of work agreed by the Junior Ministers' working group on outstanding Executive business; and (ii) to detail the issues that have been resolved and the issues that have yet to be resolved.

(AQW 795/11)

First Minister and deputy First Minister: The content of Executive papers and all aspects of Executive business are confidential.

Expected Budget Cuts

Mr J O'Dowd asked the First Minister and deputy First Minister what steps they are taking to discuss the expected budget cuts directly with the British Government, given the potential impact on the local economy and the community.

(AQO 130/11)

First Minister and deputy First Minister: The Finance Minister, Sammy Wilson, has had a number of meetings with Treasury Ministers over recent months to discuss the 2010 UK Spending Review. As recently as last Wednesday he met with the Chief Secretary to the Treasury, along with his Scottish and Welsh counterparts. We are also meeting the Chancellor of the Exchequer, George Osborne on 28 September 2010 in advance of a meeting with the Prime Minister in October.

The Finance Minister has repeatedly stressed the need for transparency, fairness and full early engagement in the 2010 UK Spending Review allocation process.

Hillsborough Agreement

Mr G Savage asked the First Minister and deputy First Minister what is the legal status of the Hillsborough Agreement.

(AQW 823/11)

First Minister and deputy First Minister: The Hillsborough Castle Agreement represents and derives authority from its status as an agreement between the political parties we represent as co-chairs of the Northern Ireland Executive. Where appropriate, the commitments set out in the Agreement have been subsequently brought by us to the Executive and Assembly, or will be so, and consequently have legal status as decisions of those bodies.

Surplus Land

Dr A McDonnell asked the First Minister and deputy First Minister to detail any (i) land; and (ii) property owned by their Department which is currently deemed surplus to requirements, including the location of the land or property and any plans for its disposal.

(AQW 824/11)

First Minister and deputy First Minister: The Department is currently holding one asset comprising land and buildings that is deemed surplus to requirements. This asset is located in Ballymena. The Capital assets Realisation Taskforce (Strategic Investment Board) has been tasked with the disposal of the asset.

Outstanding Executive Papers

Ms M Ritchie asked the First Minister and deputy First Minister to outline the estimated timescale to address all outstanding Executive papers; and if they will make a statement on this matter.

(AQW 938/11)

First Minister and deputy First Minister: The content of Executive papers and all aspects of Executive business are confidential.

Outstanding Executive Papers

Ms M Ritchie asked the First Minister and deputy First Minister to list the Executive papers which are currently outstanding including when these papers were first submitted and their current status; and if they will make a statement on this matter.

(AQW 995/11)

First Minister and deputy First Minister: The content of Executive papers and all aspects of Executive business are confidential.

DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE AND RURAL DEVELOPMENT

Real Milk

Mr G Savage asked the Minister of Agriculture and Rural Development what her Department is doing to protect the status of real milk, given the recent increase in the availability of milk substitutes.

(AQW 419/11)

Minister of Agriculture and Rural Development (Ms M Gildernew): The increase in availability of food products is entirely market driven and our consumers reasonably expect to have a choice in what they decide to purchase. While food labelling, including the labelling of milk and milk substitutes, is the responsibility of the Food Standards Agency, I have made clear my view that it is important that products are clearly and unambiguously labelled so that consumers are able to make an informed choice.

My own Department provides the local dairy industry with significant support through CAFRE and AFBI to help improve its competitiveness and future sustainability. Financial assistance is also available under the EU School Milk Scheme, the Regional Food Programme and the Rural Development Programme. There are strict EU rules on support by Government for advertising and promotional activities but within these the Dairy Council for the north of Ireland, with EU support, undertakes generic advertising and promotional activities for cows’ milk and milk products.

Tourism Development Scheme Bids

Mr C McDevitt asked e Minister of Agriculture and Rural Development to detail (i) the number of Tourism Development Scheme bids received by her Department in the current funding round; (ii) the total number that have been approved; (iii) the total number outstanding; and (iv) the total value of (a) approved; and (b) outstanding bids.

(AQW 423/11)

Minister of Agriculture and Rural Development: My Department provides support for tourism under of Axis 3 of the NIRDP 2007-2013, Measure 3.3 - Encouragement of Tourism Activities. This measure has received 426 applications of which 80, with a value of £5.687m have been approved. Presently 87 applications valued at £7.96m are outstanding, 65 of which are currently under appraisal by Local Action Groups.

2010 National Ploughing Championships at Athy, County Kildare

Mr G Savage asked the Minister of Agriculture and Rural Development for a breakdown of the cost of her Department's involvement in the 2010 National Ploughing Championships at Athy, County Kildare.

(AQW 454/11)

Minister of Agriculture and Rural Development: Most of the costs for the DARD Exhibition at the 2010 National and European Ploughing Championships event, which was held at Athy, Co Kildare between 21 and 23 September 2010 have not yet been finalised.

To date only costs for the hire of trade space and the supply of electricity have been finalised. These costs amount to £4,097.50.

I will write to you again, to provide details of the other costs, when they have been finalised.

Licensed Dog Kennels

Mr J O'Dowd asked the Minister of Agriculture and Rural Development how often licensed dog kennels are inspected; and to outline the procedure for lodging complaints against licensed kennels for alleged breaches of contract or mistreatment of dogs.

(AQW 456/11)

Minister of Agriculture and Rural Development: The Veterinary Service aims to inspect each licensed dog kennel annually. A kennel that is the subject of a welfare complaint from a member of the public is inspected within one working day of DARD receiving the complaint. Customers using a boarding establishment are entitled to complain to the owners of the kennels if they have an issue with breach of contract. Clearly they are entitled to use the normal legal mechanisms that are in place to deal with any failure by a business to deliver what it has been contracted to do. If a member of the public has a complaint about the welfare of animals being kept in a boarding establishment they are welcome to complain to DARD either through the DARD helpline or via a local DARD office.

The welfare of the animals kept in a boarding kennel is covered by the Welfare of Animals Act (NI) 1972 and the Boarding Establishments Regulations (NI) 1974.

Farm Modernisation Programme

Mr T Clarke asked the Minister of Agriculture and Rural Development how many farmers have benefited to date from the Farm Modernisation Programme in South Antrim.

(AQW 489/11)

Minister of Agriculture and Rural Development: To date, Letters of Offer with a total value of £168,961 have been issued to 41 farm businesses in the South Antrim constituency under the Farm Modernisation Programme (FMP). An additional 4 farm business received Letters of Offer with a total value of £40,000 under the Manure Efficiency Technology Sub Programme (METS).

Peace III Partnership Staff

Mr I McCrea asked the Minister of Agriculture and Rural Development to detail the (i) religion; and (ii) gender of the staff employed in each Peace III Partnership.

(AQW 665/11)

Minister of Agriculture and Rural Development: My Department does not distribute any Peace III funds and therefore is not privy to the religion or gender of any Peace III Partnership staff.

Local Action Group Staff

Mr I McCrea asked the Minister of Agriculture and Rural Development to detail the (i) religion; and (ii) gender of the staff employed in each Local action Group.

(AQW 666/11)

Minister of Agriculture and Rural Development: Local Action Groups do not employ any staff. However, the Lead Administrative Council for each geographical cluster provides the staff complement, and is the employer. My Department would not have details of the religion or gender of these Council staff.

Land Parcel Identification System

Mr G Savage asked the Minister of Agriculture and Rural Development how much funding her Department has set aside for the re-mapping of all farms in the Land Parcel Identification system.

(AQW 728/11)

Minister of Agriculture and Rural Development: For the 2010/11 financial year, I have set aside £4.8 million for the re-mapping of nearly 750,000 fields on the Land Parcel Identification System.

DEPARTMENT OF CULTURE, ARTS AND LEISURE

Sports and Community Arts Sectors

Mr B Leonard asked the Minister of Culture, Arts and Leisure how he intends to protect the jobs and community services provided by the sports and community arts sectors in the current financial climate.

(AQW 422/11)

Minister of Culture, Arts and Leisure (Mr N McCausland): Along with colleagues in the Northern Ireland Executive, I am currently engaged in providing critical inputs to the Comprehensive Spending Review 2010, managed by the Department of Finance and Personnel. Ongoing, complex work within my department, including input from its Arms Length Bodies, involves looking at all areas of spend across the DCAL profile including Sports, Arts, Libraries and Museums. Once the Northern Ireland Executive has announced the final allocations for all the Northern Ireland Departments, I will give due consideration to the allocations of funding to all spending areas falling within my Department’s remit. In doing so I will take full account of the impact such allocations will have across the culture, arts and leisure sector.

Illegal Salmon Netting

Mr D Kinahan asked the Minister of Culture, Arts and Leisure how many incidents of illegal salmon netting his Department has detected in each of the last five years; and what steps his Department is taking to stop this activity.

(AQW 635/11)

Minister of Culture, Arts and Leisure: The table below provides details of illegal fishing nets seized in the DCAL jurisdiction over the past five years.

Year	2005	2006	2007	2008	2009
Total nets seized	7,650yds	9,875yds	3,770yds	330yds	10,100yds

These figures are for all illegal fishing nets seized as it is not possible in all cases to accurately determine those nets specifically targeting salmon and those nets targeting other fish species.

My Department has been directly responsible for the conservation and protection of salmon and inland fisheries in the DCAL jurisdiction since 1 June 2009. Prior to that date fisheries protection functions were carried out by the former Fisheries Conservancy Board.

Fisheries Protection Officers (FPO’s) carry out regular patrols on land and water throughout the DCAL operational area and monitor and check angling and commercial fishing activities to ensure those engaged comply fully with fisheries legislation.

Intelligence led operations are carried out to detect breaches of fisheries legislation. All illegal fishing gear/catches are seized and any persons found to be acting illegally are reported with a view to prosecution.

FPO’s also carry out regular inspections at commercial dealers, fish retail outlets, hotels and restaurants to ensure that all freshwater fish being sold have been legally caught.

Poaching

Mr D Kinahan asked the Minister of Culture, Arts and Leisure (i) for his assessment of the current level of poaching in the (a) Glenariff; (b) Dun; and (c) Dall rivers; (ii) what impact this is having on fish stocks in these rivers; and (iii) what action his Department is taking to address this issue.

(AQW 636/11)

Minister of Culture, Arts and Leisure: DCAL Fisheries Protection Officers (FPO’s) have received some anecdotal information on poaching in the three named rivers. Direct evidence has been received confirming the targeting of fish in the Glenariff River. In this case a concealed net was discovered and subsequently passed to FPO’s. To date there has been no evidence to confirm poaching activity in either the Dun or the Dall.

There are a wide range of complex factors that affect fish stocks and without more specific information on the numbers of fish being taken by poachers it is difficult to give any meaningful assessment of the impact of poaching in these rivers. However, the loss of any adult fish has the immediate effect of reducing the numbers available for anglers and in the longer term reduces the potential breeding stock in that river.

FPO’s carry out regular patrols on land and water throughout the DCAL operational area and monitor and check angling and commercial fishing activities to ensure those engaged comply fully with fisheries legislation. All reports of alleged poaching are assessed by enforcement mangers. Patrols in the area in question have been increased recently on the basis of intelligence. A meeting was held with the Police Service of Northern Ireland on 20 September 2010 to ensure a co-ordinated approach to this issue.

FPO’s have also been working closely with the local angling club, which has appointed some of its members as private water bailiffs. Members of the club attended a DCAL information evening in April 2010 aimed at providing private water bailiffs with information on fisheries legislation and operational enforcement.

Ticket-touting

Mr K Robinson asked the Minister of Culture, Arts and Leisure why his Department's support for legislation to deal with ticket-touting applies only to football and not to other sports or non--sporting ticketed events.

(AQW 699/11)

Minister of Culture, Arts and Leisure: I am aware that the Department of Justice (DoJ) is proposing to introduce new sports grounds related criminal justice legislation to help preserve good order and improve public safety at major sports grounds. DoJ has stated publicly that, in this context, it wishes to bring forward legislation to ensure that the sale of tickets by touts does not undermine steps taken by football clubs, in the interests of preserving good order and maintaining public safety, to segregate opposing fans at major football grounds. Unlike football, other sports and non-sporting ticketed events have not traditionally found it necessary, for public safety or other reasons, to introduce similar segregation measures at their venues. I understand that, as a consequence of this, DoJ does not presently see a need to extend its proposed ticket-touting legislation to them. My Department therefore supports DoJ’s proposal on that basis.

Shared Sports Stadium

Mr C Lyttle asked the Minister of Culture, Arts and Leisure to outline the estimated costings for a shared sports stadium, to include soccer and rugby, at Boucher playing fields, Boucher Road, Belfast; and why this was dismissed as a viable option.

(AQW 739/11)

Minister of Culture, Arts and Leisure: As the draft Outline Business Case on regional stadium provision for football, rugby and Gaelic games is currently under consideration by my Department it would be inappropriate for me to provide any of the detail you have requested.

DEPARTMENT OF EDUCATION

Translation of Departmental Papers

Mr A Bresland asked the Minister of Education how much her Department spent on the translation of departmental papers into (i) Irish; and (ii) Ulster-Scots in (a) 2007/08; (b) 2008/09; and (c) 2009/10

(AQW 389/11)

Minister of Education (Ms C Ruane ): Is mar seo a leanas a bhí caiteachas na Roinne Oideachais ar cháipéisí roinne a aistriú go Gaeilge agus go hAlbainis Uladh:

The Department of Education’s expenditure on the translation of departmental papers into Irish and Ulster-Scots, was as follows:

	a) 2007/08	b) 2008/09	c) 2009/10
i) Irish	£13,274	£47,062	£38,830
ii) Ulster-Scots	£108	£261	£35

My Department’s use of Irish stems from the Good Friday Agreement and the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages, which promote, facilitate and encourage the use of the Irish language. There are thirty-six Irish medium units and schools across the north of Ireland. I aim to respect their expectation and that of all other Irish speakers to receive written communications from my Department in their language of choice.

Prosecution of Parents for the Non-attendance of Pupils

Lord Morrow asked the Minister of Education, pursuant to AQW 93/11, whether the prosecution of parents for the non-attendance of their children at school also applies to traveller parents.

(AQW 398/11)

Minister of Education: Tá feidhm freisin ar thuismitheoirí den lucht siúil ag ionchúiseamh na dtuismitheoirí de dheasca neamhfhreastal a bpáistí. Tá deacrachtaí ar leith a bhaineann le freastal rialta na bpáistí den lucht siúil a bhaint amach ós rud é go bhfuil stíl fhánaithe mhaireachtála ag cuid mhór acu.

The prosecution of parents for the non-attendance of their children at school also applies to Traveller parents. There are particular difficulties in securing the regular attendance of children of the Traveller community given that many of them have a nomadic lifestyle.  Schedule 13 Part II paragraph 3.3 of the Education and Libraries (NI) Order 1986 states that if proceedings are brought and it is proved that the child has no fixed abode, the parent shall be entitled to be acquitted if they prove that they are engaged in any trade or business which requires them to travel from place to place and that the child has attended the school as regularly as the parent’s trade or business permitted. However, in the case of a child who has attained the age of six, he or she must have attended the school at least one hundred days during the twelve month period ending with the date on which the proceedings were instituted.

In September 2008 I established the Taskforce on Traveller Education to review the educational needs of Traveller children and the current delivery of services and make recommendations to improve educational access, attainment and outcomes. The report of the Taskforce findings, which is due to be presented to the Department by the end of this year, will assist in producing an action plan on Traveller education.

In August 2010 a school circular was issued on the Education and Inclusion of Children and Young People from the Traveller Community. The circular includes guidance on the management of attendance.

Capital Projects

Mr S Moutray asked the Minister of Education for an update on all her Department's capital projects in each constituency that (i) were or will be commenced or completed in 2010/11; (ii) are planned for 2011/12; and (iii) have been postponed because of budgetary constraints.

(AQW 494/11)

Minister of Education: Cuireadh i gcrích na tionscadail ollchaipitil seo a leanas chun foirgnimh nua scoile a sholáthar nó cuireadh tús le hoibreacha tógála orthu sa bhliain airgeadais 2010/11.

The following major capital projects to provide new school buildings were completed or have commenced construction works in the 2010/11 financial year.

Constituency	School	Details
Belfast North	Belfast Model School for Boys	Completed
Foyle	St Mary’s College, Derry	Completed
Foyle	St Cecilia’s College, Derry	Completed
Foyle	Lisnagelvin P.S. Derry	Completed
Fermanagh & South Tyrone	Lisbellaw P.S.	Completed
North Antrim	St Mary’s P.S. Portglenone	Completed
Strangford	St Joseph’s P.S. Carryduff	Completed
Belfast North	Whitehouse P.S. Newtownabbey	Commenced

Funding to allow construction work to start in 2010/11 on a further thirteen major capital projects was made available in August 2010. These projects are as follows:-

Constituency	School	Details
Belfast East	Strathearn G.S. Belfast	New school
Belfast South	Taughmonagh P.S. Belfast	New school
Belfast West	Scoil na Fuiseoige, Twinbrook	New school
Fermanagh & South Tyrone	Coranny & Cornagague P.S. Roslea	New school
Lagan Valley	St Colman’s P.S. Lambeg	New school
Mid Ulster	Magherafelt P.S. & N.S.	New schools
Mid Ulster	St Columba’s P.S. Straw	New school
Newry & Armagh	Dromintee P.S. Newry	New school
Newry & Armagh	St Joseph’s P.S. Madden	New school
Newry & Armagh	St Oliver Plunkett’s P.S Forkhill	New school
North Down	Bangor G.S.	New school
South Down	Carrick P.S. Warrenpoint	New school
South Down	St Mary’s P.S. Newcastle	New school

My Department also has a number of other major capital projects recorded in the Investment Delivery Plan (IDP). These are listed below.

Constituency	School	Details
Belfast East	Greenwood Assessment Centre	New school
Belfast East	Belfast East Knockbreda H.S.	New school
Belfast East	Belfast East Lagan College (PPP)	New school
Belfast East	Mitchell House Special School	New school
Belfast East	Belfast East Strand / Sydenham P.S.	New school
Belfast East	Strandtown P.S.	New school
Belfast North	Glenwood P.S. / Edenderry N.S.	New schools
Belfast North	Little Flower Girls S.S.	New school
Belfast South	Methodist College	New school
Belfast South	Victoria College	New school
Belfast West	Colaiste Feirste	Ext / Refurb
Belfast West	Springhill P.S.	New school
East Derry	Ballykelly P.S. Limavady	New school
East Derry	Limegrove/Glasvey Special School	New school
Fermanagh & South Tyrone	Coranny & Cornagague P.S. Roslea	New school
Fermanagh & South Tyrone	Devenish College, Enniskillen	New school
Fermanagh & South Tyrone	Enniskillen Model P.S.	New school
Fermanagh & South Tyrone	St Patrick’s Academy, Dungannon	New school
Fermanagh & South Tyrone	St Paul’s P.S. Irvinestown	New school
Foyle	Belmont Special School, Derry	New school
Foyle	Ebrington P.S. Derry	New school
Foyle	Eglinton P.S. Derry	New school
Foyle	Foyle & Londonderry College	New school
Foyle	New buildings P.S. Derry	New school
Lagan Valley	Dromore Central P.S.	New school
Mid Ulster	Edendork P.S. Dungannon	New school
Mid Ulster	Holy Family P.S. Magherafelt	New school
Mid Ulster	Holy Trinity College, Cookstown	New school
Mid Ulster	Rainey Endowed School Magherafelt	New school
Newry & Armagh	St Clare’s Abbey P.S. Newry	New school
Newry & Armagh	St Joseph’s Convent P.S. Newry	New school
Newry & Armagh	St Patrick’s G.S. Armagh	Ext / Refurb
North Antrim	Ballymoney H.S.	New school
North Down	Holywood / Redburn P.S.	New school
North Down	Holywood Nursery School	New school
North Down	Priory College, Holywood	New school
North Down	St Columbanus College, Bangor	New school
South Antrim	Parkhall College, Antrim	New school
South Down	Knockevin Special School Downpatrick	New school
South Down	St Bronagh’s P.S. Rostrevor	New school
South Down	St Louis G.S. Kilkeel	New school
South Down	The High School, Ballynahinch	New school
Strangford	Glastry College, Ballyhalbert	New school
Strangford	Tor Bank Special School Dundonald (PPP)	New school
Upper Bann	Lurgan College	New school
Upper Bann	Portadown College	New school
Upper Bann	St Mary’s P.S. Banbridge	New school
Upper Bann	St Patrick’s College Banbridge	New school
Upper Bann	St Teresa’s P.S. Lurgan	New school
Upper Bann	Tannaghmore P.S. Lurgan	New school
West Tyrone	Artigarvan P.S. Strabane	New school
West Tyrone	Arvalee / Cranny Special School Omagh	New school
West Tyrone	Dean Maguirc College, Carrickmore	New school
West Tyrone	Loreto G.S. Omagh	New school
West Tyrone	Omagh Integrated P.S.	New school
West Tyrone	St Columbkille’s P.S. Carrickmore	New school
West Tyrone	St Conor’s P.S. Omagh	New school

It is the intention, subject to the resolution of any outstanding issues, to progress with these projects. However, the timing as to when these projects might commence, with the exception of Lagan College and Tor Bank Special School, can only be considered when the capital budget position for the coming years has been determined by the Executive. As such I cannot say if any of these projects will commence in 2011/12.

Subject to the project achieving all necessary approvals, it is anticipated that the construction of Lagan College and Tor Bank Special School will commence in 2011/12.

I will continue to press the case with the Executive for significant capital funds for the schools estate.

Transport to Special Schools

Mr M Durkan asked the Minister of Education how many children are currently transported to special schools by (i) taxi; (ii) private hire buses; and (iii) buses owned by the Education and Library Board, in each Education and Library Board area.

(AQW 509/11)

Minister of Education: Chuir na Boird Oideachais agus Leabharlann in iúl dom gur mar atá soláthraithe sa tábla thíos atá líon na bpáistí a iompraítear ar scoileanna speisialta (i) i dtacsaí; (ii) i mbusanna fruilithe príobháideacha; agus (iii) i mbusanna ar leis an Bhord Oideachais agus Leabharlann, i ngach limistéar Bhord Oideachais agus Leabharlann, iad, don bhliain airgeadais 2009-10.

I have been advised by the Education & Library Boards that the number of children currently transported to special schools by (i) taxi; (ii) private hire buses; and (iii) buses owned by the Education and Library Board, in each Education and Library Board area, for the 2009-10 financial year are as provided in the table below.

Education and Library Board Area	(i) Taxi	(ii) Private Hire Buses	(iii) Board Buses
Belfast	65	328	621
North-Eastern	256	302	576
South-Eastern	167	93	1,046
Southern	128	21	353
Western	68	38	567

The Education and Library’s policy states that "escorts are provided, where required, to ensure the safety of children on the recommendation of the Designated Special Education Officer".

As a contractual requirement, all private hire contractors must only supply personnel who have been Access NI checked.

All escorts when present and drivers are also subject to an enhanced Access NI criminal record check.

Transport to Special Schools

Mr M Durkan asked the Minister of Education how many children are currently transported to special schools by taxi without a vetted adult attending in each Education and Library Board area.

(AQW 511/11)

Minister of Education: Chuir na Boird Oideachais agus Leabharlann in iúl dom go bhfuil líon na bpáistí a iompraítear ar scoileanna speisialta i dtacsaí gan aosach scagtha nach bhfuil duine comórtha leis i ngach limistéar Bhord Oideachais agus Leabharlann mar atá soláthraithe sa tábla thíos;

I am advised by the Education and Library Boards that children currently transported to special schools by taxi without a vetted adult that is without an escort attending in each Education and Library Board area is as provided in the table below;

Education and Library Board area	Pupils travelling in taxis without a vetted adult (escort)
Belfast	113
North Eastern	0
South Eastern	92
Southern	20
Western	78

The Education and Library’s policy states that "escorts are provided, where required, to ensure the safety of children on the recommendation of the Designated Special Education Officer".

As a contractual requirement, all private hire contractors must only supply personnel who have been Access NI checked.

All escorts when present and drivers are also subject to an enhanced Access NI criminal record check.

Health and Safety Issues

Mr M Storey asked the Minister of Education to list the schools which have reported health and safety issues in relation to school buildings and grounds, in each of the last three years.

(AQW 525/11)

Minister of Education: Níl fáil ar an eolas a d’iarr tú. Thuairiscigh na Boird Oideachais agus Leabharlann, atá freagrach as cothabháil i ngach scoil seachas Scoileanna Deonacha Gramadaí agus Scoileanna Imeasctha faoi Chothabháil Stáit, nach bhfuil go leor soiléire ann maidir leis an sainmhíniú ar cad is obair ar shláinte agus shábháilteacht ann agus dá bharr sin, ní bhíonn an t-eolas a d’iarr tú á choinneáil ar a bhunachar sonraí um bhainistiú an eastáit.

The information you have requested is not available. The Education and Library Boards, which are responsible for maintenance of all schools with the exception of Voluntary Grammar Schools and Grant Maintained Integrated schools, have reported that because of the lack of clarity surrounding the definition of what constitutes health and safety work they do not hold the information you have requested on their estate management database.

Boards record all requests for maintenance work on the estate management database system. Maintenance is defined as the ‘make good’ cost necessary to bring school buildings back to the condition that they had when they were built. Maintenance includes any urgent work to address health and safety issues and avoid serious deterioration of the fabric or services to the building.

The ELBs, working with the Department, are in the process of introducing additional fields on the database which will capture more specific information on reported health and safety works.

Teacher-Pupil Ratio

Mr M Storey asked the Minister of Education to detail the teacher-pupil ratio in each school, in each of the last three years.

(AQW 527/11)

Minister of Education: Shocraigh mé go gcuirfear i Leabharlann an Tionóil eolas ar na cóimheasa múinteoirí is daltaí i ngach scoil.

I have arranged for information on teacher-pupil ratios for all schools to be placed in the Assembly Library.

Telephony Services to the Education and Library Boards

Miss M McIlveen asked the Minister of Education (i) to list the companies currently providing telephony services to each Education and Library Board; and (ii) to detail the cost of telephony services to each Education and Library Board, in each of the last five years.

(AQW 570/11)

Minister of Education: (i) Is mionsonraithe sna táblaí thíos atá na comhlachtaí atá ag soláthar seirbhísí teileafónaíochta do gach Bord Oideachais agus Leabharlann agus costais na seirbhísí teileafónaíochta a thit ar gach Bord Oideachais agus Leabharlann i ngach bliain de na cúig bliana a chuaigh thart.

(i) The companies currently providing telephony services to each Education and Library Board and the costs of telephony services to each Education and Library Board in each of the last five years are detailed in the tables below.

Table 1: Service Providers

Education and Library Board (ELB)	Service Provider (For Landline services only)
BELB	BT and Cable & Wireless
NEELB	BT
SEELB	BT and Cable and Wireless
SELB	BT; Morriston Ltd (Atlas) and Cable and Wireless
WELB	BT

Table 2: Costs (£’s)

	2005/06 £	2006/07 £	2007/08 £	2008/09 £	2009/10 £
BELB	198,949	206,381	148,867	214,699	175,080
NEELB	221,324	230,445	228,099	237,984	200,199
SEELB	209,904	178,850	136,943	124,073	95,164
SELB	242,067	264,618	292,774	302,668	252,504
WELB	195,380	200,165	208,021	223,354	184,074

Notes:

1. The providers and costs provided relate to landline type telephony services only.
2. Costs are those associated with ELBs headquarters, with the majority relating to the provision of support services to schools and pupils such as CASS, transport, youth services etc.
3. Costs also include public library service up to and including 2008/09.

(ii) The tender process undertaken to ensure value for money in the provision of telephony services to the Education and Library Boards

BELB

The Belfast Education and Library Board has contracts with Cable & Wireless and Orange under a Pan Government contract administered by the Office of Government Commerce.

SELB

The Southern Education and Library Board currently use Cable & Wireless for fixed telephony services and Vodafone for mobile telephony service. Both services are procured under the OGC Frameworks for Pan Government Sector RM 374 for fixed and RM 526 for mobile.

SEELB

In accordance with the guidance on Procurement Control Limits used by N I Departments, their Agencies and Non-Departmental public bodies, for the procurement of general goods, services and works, the South Eastern Education and Library Board publicly advertise all tender opportunities over £30k to ensure they are open to all SMEs and SEEs.  Since October 2009 all tenders are also available on the eSourcing NI website.

In relation to the Board’s contracts for the provision of telephony services the maintenance of Meridian Telephony Switch at SEELB HQ is regarded as a selected tender as we chose a number of firms to tender for the service.  For the other two telephony contracts, we use Pan Government Frameworks established by the Office of Government Commerce (OGC) as they aggregate the demand for the entire United Kingdom public sector.  We consider this to process is best for the Board as it streamlines the procurement process and attains value for money.

NEELB

The North Eastern Education and Library Board used the OGC Framework Agreement that delivers a range of commoditised and specialized telecoms goods and services through many suppliers including BT.  The Reference for this Agreement is RM374 with a start date of 8 January 2008 and end date of 7 January 2012. 

WELB

In August 2010 the Western Education and Library Board entered into a BT Business One Plan covering the period 1 September 2010 to 31 August 2012. This BT Business One Plan will provide a 5% discount when compared with the Board’s previous spend with BT.

BT is included as a nominated supplier for the provision of telecoms services within the Office of Government Commerce (OGC) / Buying Solutions Framework Agreements. The relevant OGC Framework Agreement reference is:

Sector: Pan Government

Framework reference: RM 374

Framework title: Telecom Networks – Voice calls and lines

Framework effective from: 8 January 2008

Framework expires on: 7 January 2012

The benefits of using the OGC / Buying Solutions Framework Agreement include;

• The Framework provides access to a select list of suppliers with demonstrated competencies in the required areas of expertise;
• The Framework reduces the time and cost associated with procurement by offering a pre-tendered call-off facility; and
• The Framework provides compliance with EU procurement legislation.

Telephony Services to the Education and Library Boards

Miss M McIlveen asked the Minister of Education to outline the tender process undertaken to ensure value for money in the provision of telephony services to the Education and Library Boards.

(AQW 571/11)

Minister of Education: (i) Is mionsonraithe sna táblaí thíos atá na comhlachtaí atá ag soláthar seirbhísí teileafónaíochta do gach Bord Oideachais agus Leabharlann agus costais na seirbhísí teileafónaíochta a thit ar gach Bord Oideachais agus Leabharlann i ngach bliain de na cúig bliana a chuaigh thart.

(i) The companies currently providing telephony services to each Education and Library Board and the costs of telephony services to each Education and Library Board in each of the last five years are detailed in the tables below.

Table 1: Service Providers

Education and Library Board (ELB)	Service Provider (For Landline services only)
BELB	BT and Cable & Wireless
NEELB	BT
SEELB	BT and Cable and Wireless
SELB	BT; Morriston Ltd (Atlas) and Cable and Wireless
WELB	BT

Table 2: Costs (£’s)

	2005/06 £	2006/07 £	2007/08 £	2008/09 £	2009/10 £
BELB	198,949	206,381	148,867	214,699	175,080
NEELB	221,324	230,445	228,099	237,984	200,199
SEELB	209,904	178,850	136,943	124,073	95,164
SELB	242,067	264,618	292,774	302,668	252,504
WELB	195,380	200,165	208,021	223,354	184,074

Notes:

1. The providers and costs provided relate to landline type telephony services only.
2. Costs are those associated with ELBs headquarters, with the majority relating to the provision of support services to schools and pupils such as CASS, transport, youth services etc.
3. Costs also include public library service up to and including 2008/09.

(ii) The tender process undertaken to ensure value for money in the provision of telephony services to the Education and Library Boards

BELB

The Belfast Education and Library Board has contracts with Cable & Wireless and Orange under a Pan Government contract administered by the Office of Government Commerce.

SELB

The Southern Education and Library Board currently use Cable & Wireless for fixed telephony services and Vodafone for mobile telephony service. Both services are procured under the OGC Frameworks for Pan Government Sector RM 374 for fixed and RM 526 for mobile.

SEELB

In accordance with the guidance on Procurement Control Limits used by N I Departments, their Agencies and Non-Departmental public bodies, for the procurement of general goods, services and works, the South Eastern Education and Library Board publicly advertise all tender opportunities over £30k to ensure they are open to all SMEs and SEEs.  Since October 2009 all tenders are also available on the eSourcing NI website.

In relation to the Board’s contracts for the provision of telephony services the maintenance of Meridian Telephony Switch at SEELB HQ is regarded as a selected tender as we chose a number of firms to tender for the service.  For the other two telephony contracts, we use Pan Government Frameworks established by the Office of Government Commerce (OGC) as they aggregate the demand for the entire United Kingdom public sector.  We consider this to process is best for the Board as it streamlines the procurement process and attains value for money.

NEELB

The North Eastern Education and Library Board used the OGC Framework Agreement that delivers a range of commoditised and specialized telecoms goods and services through many suppliers including BT.  The Reference for this Agreement is RM374 with a start date of 8 January 2008 and end date of 7 January 2012. 

WELB

In August 2010 the Western Education and Library Board entered into a BT Business One Plan covering the period 1 September 2010 to 31 August 2012. This BT Business One Plan will provide a 5% discount when compared with the Board’s previous spend with BT.

BT is included as a nominated supplier for the provision of telecoms services within the Office of Government Commerce (OGC) / Buying Solutions Framework Agreements. The relevant OGC Framework Agreement reference is:

Sector: Pan Government

Framework reference: RM 374

Framework title: Telecom Networks – Voice calls and lines

Framework effective from: 8 January 2008

Framework expires on: 7 January 2012

The benefits of using the OGC / Buying Solutions Framework Agreement include;

• The Framework provides access to a select list of suppliers with demonstrated competencies in the required areas of expertise;
• The Framework reduces the time and cost associated with procurement by offering a pre-tendered call-off facility; and
• The Framework provides compliance with EU procurement legislation.

Director of Equality and All-Ireland Directorate

Miss M McIlveen asked the Minister of Education (i) to outline the job description of the Director of Equality and All-Ireland Directorate; (ii) when this position was created; and (iii) whether there is an east/west equivalent.

(AQW 572/11)

Minister of Education: Tá freagrachtaí an Cheannaire um Chomhionannas agus an Stiúrthóireacht Uile-Éireann leagtha amach thíos. Bunaíodh an post seo i mí na Bealtaine sa bhliain 2009 agus tá sé freagrach as saincheisteanna thoir/thiar.

The responsibilities of the Head of Equality and All Ireland Directorate are set out below. The post was established in May 2009 and includes responsibilities for east/west matters.

Equality and All-Ireland Directorate

This directorate sits at the heart of the Department and has the key role of providing co-ordination and other services in support of the Minister and top management, and a substantive locus for legislation work. In particular, it has the key role in ensuring that equality considerations are paramount within the work of all the other Directorates, and in that capacity it exercises a co-ordination and challenge role in relation to policy development across the Department. In discharging that role it also has regard to all-Ireland issues, ensuring that policy development takes account of corresponding provision in the South, and promoting opportunities for all-Ireland engagement as appropriate.

The directorate is responsible for a number of other functions including staffing, planning, and personnel issues for Departmental staff, and promoting effective communication both internally and externally. It provides the secretariat to the Departmental Board and Top Management Group (TMG).

Key Interfaces: In the nature of its work, this directorate liaises continually with colleagues across the Department and with counterparts in Dublin as required. It will also interface directly with ESA (when established) on those Assembly Questions that relate to operational or service-delivery issues; and with Assembly staff as required.

Main Responsibilities

(a) Equality and all-Ireland Issues:

• Equality scrutiny and challenge, and liaison with the Equality Commission.
• All-Ireland issues and promotion of contact on issues of common interest.
• Diversity and Targeting Social Need.
• NSMC co-ordination.

(b) Central Co-ordination and Top Management Support:

• Support for Minister (Private Office).
• Assembly liaison.
• Answers to Assembly Questions.
• Secretariat to Departmental Board and TMG.
• Miscellaneous queries and corporate issues.
• Public appointments.
• Office services – including accommodation, ICT and telephony.
• Information management.
• Personnel/human resource functions including workforce planning, managing attendance and employer equal opportunities responsibilities.
• Business improvement – improving efficiency in business processes and reducing the bureaucratic burden on schools, etc.

(c) Legislation

• Primary legislation (including Review of Public Administration Bills).
• Revision and consolidation of education law.
• Subordinate legislation (regulations, orders, etc as required).

(d) Media and Communications

• Departmental communications strategy, including website maintenance.
• Events management, including annual conference series for school leaders.
• Media handling.
• Briefing for visits.

(e) External Relations

• Education Advisory Forum (when established).
• British/Irish.
• European Union issues (excluding funding).
• OECD and USA,
• Sponsorship of sectoral bodies (on implementation of the RPA).
• Teacher & pupil exchange programmes.

Financial Assistance Under the Class Sizes Policy

Mr A Bresland asked the Minister of Education to detail (i) which schools received financial assistance under the Class Sizes policy and the amount each school received; and (ii) the criteria used to allocate this financial assistance in the 2010/11 academic year.

(AQW 598/11)

Minister of Education: Sa bhliain acadúil 2010/11, fuair 17 mbunscoil cistiú faoin bheartas um Méideanna Ranga. Riarann na Boird Oideachais agus Leabharlann an beartas seo agus sholáthair siad an t-eolas thíos i bpointe (i).

In the 2010/11 academic year, 17 primary schools received funding under the Class Sizes policy. The Education and Library Boards administer this policy and have supplied the information at (i) below:

(i) The following schools received financial assistance for the 2010/11 academic year under the Class Sizes policy.

School	Amount
Euston Street Primary School, Belfast	£19,500
Springhill Primary School, Belfast	£19,500
Forge Integrated Primary School, Belfast	£19,500
Holy Cross Boys’ Primary School, Belfast	£19,500
Holy Family Primary School, Belfast	£19,500
Our Lady’s Girls’ Primary School, Belfast	£19,500
Star of the Sea Primary School, Belfast	£19,500
St Malachy’s Primary School, Belfast	£19,500
Drumahoe Primary School, Derry	£34,199
Omagh County Primary School	£17,100
Holy Trinity Primary School, Enniskillen	£17,100
St Canice’s Primary School, Dungiven	£17,100
Enniskillen Integrated Primary School	£34,199
St Paul’s Primary School, Enniskillen	£25,649
Steelstown Primary School, Derry	£34,199
Harmony Hill Primary School, Lisburn	£20,000
Lisnasharragh Primary School, Belfast	£20,000

(ii) In order to be considered for funding in 2010/11, schools were required to meet the basic criterion that they expected to have a Pupil:Teacher Ratio in the 2010/11 school year above the north of Ireland average of 20.4:1.

Primary Schools

Mr P Doherty asked the Minister of Education to detail the percentage of primary schools in each sector that are currently located in (i) permanent builds; (ii) mobiles; and (iii) permanent builds and mobiles.

(AQW 669/11)

Minister of Education: Tá céatadán na mbunscoileanna i ngach earnáil liostaithe sa tábla thíos:

The percentage of primary schools in each sector is listed in the table below:

	All permanent	%	All temporary	%	Mixed	%	Totals
Primary school controlled	194	50%	0	0%	180	46.6%	374
Primary schools integrated – controlled	9	50%	0	0%	7	38.9%	16
Primary schools integrated – grant maintained	4	17.4%	6	26%	10	43.5%	20
Irish medium primary	5	25%	8	40%	5	25%	18
Primary schools maintained	148	37%	0	0%	242	61%	390
Overall Total							818

Please note - there are currently 849 primary schools in the schools’ estate in the 09/10 year. The figures above show schools that were surveyed by the Education and Library Boards as part of the ongoing condition surveys of schools. Not all schools were surveyed for a number of reasons including where a new capital build is anticipated.

Tor Bank School, Dundonald

Mr A Easton asked the Minister of Education how many (i) Speech and Language Therapist posts; and (ii) Occupational Health Therapist posts are currently funded by the Education and Library Board for the Tor Bank School, Dundonald.

(AQW 706/11)

Minister of Education: Chuir Príomhfheidhmeannach Bhord Oideachais agus Leabharlann an Oirdheiscirt in iúl dom nach bhfuil aon phoist mar theiripeoirí urlabhra agus teanga ná mar theiripeoirí saothair faoi láthair atá maoinithe ag Bord Oideachais agus Leabharlann an Oirdheiscirt le haghaidh Tor Bank School, Dún Dónaill.

I have been advised by the Chief Executive of the South Eastern Education and Library Board that there are no speech and language or occupational therapist posts currently funded by the South Eastern Education and Library Board for Tor Bank School, Dundonald.

Tor Bank School, Dundonald

Mr A Easton asked the Minister of Education to detail the number of pupils (i) in total; and (ii) with autism currently attending the Tor Bank School, Dundonald.

(AQW 709/11)

Minister of Education: Níl figiúirí ar fáil go fóill don bhliain acadúil 2010/11. Taifeadadh sna figiúirí a bailíodh mar chuid den Daonáireamh Scoile sa bhliain 2009/10 go raibh 140 dalta rollaithe ar Tor Bank School, agus go raibh uathachas ar 54 dalta díobh seo.

Figures are not yet available for the 2010/11 academic year. Figures collected as part of the 2009/10 School Census recorded that there were 140 pupils enrolled in total at Tor Bank School, with 54 of these recorded as having autism.

Post-Primary School Places

Mr J Dallat asked the Minister of Education to detail (i) the number of meeting requests her Department received from Assembly Members to discuss pupil intake in post-primary schools; (ii) the number of meetings that subsequently took place; and (iii) the number of additional post-primary school places agreed as a result of these meetings.

(AQW 714/11)

Minister of Education: Fuair an Roinn Oideachais dhá iarratas ó Chomhaltaí an Tionóil ar iontógáil daltaí a plé in iarbhunscoileanna don scoilbhliain 2010/11. Tionóladh cruinniú amháin dá éis sin. Níor aontaíodh ar áiteanna breise iarbhunscoile mar gheall ar an chruinniú seo.

The Department of Education received two requests from Assembly Members to discuss pupil intake in post-primary schools for the 2010/11 school year. One meeting subsequently took place. No additional post-primary school places were agreed as a result of this meeting.

Newly Qualified Teachers

Mr J Dallat asked the Minister of Education to detail the number of the newly qualified teachers (i) in total; and (ii) who have obtained permanent full-time teaching posts, in each of the last five years.

(AQW 717/11)

Minister of Education: Tá an t-eolas a iarradh mionsonraithe sa tábla thíos.

The information requested is in the table below.

Year	Total Graduates	Total Graduates who have obtained permanent teaching employment
2004/05	792	575
2005/06	816	527
2006/07	807	494
2007/08	805	404
2008/09	735	293

Childcare Strategy

Mr D McKay asked the Minister of Education how her Department contributes to the provision of childcare and the Childcare Strategy.

(AQW 726/11)

Minister of Education: Tairgeann an RO réimse sholáthar luathbhlianta, chun oideachas agus forbairt na bpáistí idir 0-6 bliain d’aois a chur chun cinn. Cé gurb eol dúinn go gcuireann tuismitheoirí soláthar réamhscoile agus scoile san áireamh agus iad ag déanamh socruithe cúram leanaí, níl an soláthar seo ceaptha go príomha le haghaidh bearta cúram leanaí.

DE offers a range of early years provision, to promote the education and development of children aged 0-6. While we are aware that parents take account of pre-school and school provision when they are making childcare arrangements, this provision is not intended primarily as a childcare measure.

OFMDFM are leading on the development of the Childcare Strategy. Consultants have been commissioned to conduct an economic and policy appraisal and my Department is represented at the Ministerial Sub Committee Children and Young People Sub Group on Poverty which is taking forward this process.

Whistleblower Case

Mr W Irwin asked the Minister of Education to name the school discussed in the recent whistleblower case that permanently appointed teachers to posts of responsibility whilst the substantive post-holder was still in post.

(AQW 757/11)

Minister of Education: D’ardaigh sceithire gan ainm buarthaí gur ceapadh múinteoirí i bpoist bhuana freagrachta, nuair a bhí na poist fós i seilbh shealbhóir substainteach an phoist in Laurelhill Community College.

An anonymous whistleblower raised concerns that teachers were appointed to permanent posts of responsibility whilst the posts were still being held by the substantive postholder in Laurelhill Community College.

These issues are properly a matter for the Board of Governors as the employer and the South Eastern Education and Library Board (SEELB) as the employing authority. The Department put all of these concernss to the SEELB who advised that following an investigation into the allegations raised by the anonymous whistleblower, the board concluded that they do not consider there has been any impropriety by the teacher or the school concerning the teacher’s retirement.

Appeals Against Refusal of Admission to Secondary Schools

Mr P Weir asked the Minister of Education to detail the number of appeals against refusal of admission to secondary schools in each of the last three years, broken down by secondary school.

(AQW 761/11)

Minister of Education: Chuir na Boird Oideachais agus Leabharlann in iúl gur mar seo a leanas a bhí líon na n-achomharc ar iontráil ar iar-bhunscoileanna i ngach bliain le trí bliana anuas. Sa chás go bhfuil * ann in áit an fhigiúir, cuirtear in iúl go raibh níos lú ná cúig chás ann.

The Education and Library Boards have advised that the number of appeals for admission into post-primary schools in each of the last three years, are as detailed in the tables below. Where a figure has been substituted with * it denotes fewer than five cases.

BELFAST EDUCATION AND LIBRARY BOARD

SCHOOL NAME	2008/09 TOTAL APPEALS	2009/10 TOTAL APPEALS	2010/11 TOTAL APPEALS
Aquinas Grammar School	*	5	*
Ashfield Boys School	*	*	*
Ashfield Girls School	5	*	-
Belfast Royal Academy	8	*	*
Bloomfield Collegiate	7	*	5
Campbell College	6	*	_
De La Salle School	*	*	*
Dominican College	*	*	*
Grosvenor Grammar School	6	-	*
Hazelwood Integrated School	-	-	*
Hunterhouse College	11	7	*
Little Flower Girls’ School	5	-	-
Methodist College	9	*	*
Rathmore Grammar School	*	*	-
RBAI	5	5	*
St Dominic’s College	*	*	*
St Genevieve’s High School	*	-	-
St Malachy’s College	5	*	*
St Mary’s Christian Brothers’ Grammar School	-	*	*
Strathearn Grammar School	*	*	-
Victoria College	10	*	7
Wellington College	*	-	*
Total Appeals	105	49	48

WESTERN EDUCATION AND LIBRARY BOARD

SCHOOL NAME	2008/09 TOTAL APPEALS	2009/10 TOTAL APPEALS	2010/11 TOTAL APPEALS
Christian Brothers’ Grammar School, Omagh	*	-	*
Collegiate Grammar School, Enniskillen	-	*	*
Drumragh Integrated College	9	7	14
Foyle and Londonderry College	7	-	*
Limavady Grammar School	*	-	-
Loreto Grammar School, Omagh	*	13	-
Lumen Christi College	*	*	*
Mount Lourdes Grammar School	*	6	6
Oakgrove Integrated College	*	5	*
Omagh Academy	*	-	-
St Cecilia’s College	10	5	13
St Columb’s Grammar School	*	5	*
St Joseph’s Boys’ School	-	6	*
St Mary’s College, Derry	5	6	15
St Michael’s College	-	-	5
St Patrick’s & St Brigid’s College, Claudy	*	-	-
Strabane Grammar School	7	*	*
Thornhill College	7	*	*
Total Appeals	63	67	73

NORTH-EASTERN EDUCATION AND LIBRARY BOARD

SCHOOL NAME	2008/09 TOTAL APPEALS	2009/10 TOTAL APPEALS	2010/11 TOTAL APPEALS
Antrim Grammar School	*	*	-
Ballymena Academy	*	*	*
Ballyclare High School	*	*	*
Ballyclare Secondary School	*	*	*
Belfast High School	*	*	-
Cambridge House Grammar	11	*	*
Carrickfergus Grammar School	*	*	*
Coleraine Academical Institution	-	-	5
Coleraine High School	*	7	*
Dalriada School	-	*	*
Dominican College, Portstewart	*	*	*
Dunclug College	2	-	6
Larne Grammar School	*	-	*
Loreto College	*	*	*
Rainey Endowed School	5	*	-
Slemish Integrated College	*	*	11
Sperrin Integrated College	*	*	*
St Louis Grammar School	6	6	*
St Mary’s Grammar School, Magherafelt	*	*	-
St Patrick’s College, Maghera	*	8	-
St Paul’s College, Kilrea	*	7	9
St Pius X College	7	*	-
Ulidia Integrated College	*	*	*
Total Appeals	69	60	62

SOUTH-EASTERN EDUCATION AND LIBRARY BOARD

SCHOOL NAME	2008/09 TOTAL APPEALS	2009/10 TOTAL APPEALS	2010/11 TOTAL APPEALS
Assumption Grammar School	8	7	5
Bangor Grammar School	7	-	*
Bangor Academy & Sixth Form College	13	*	9
Down High School	6	*	*
Friends’ School	*	*	-
Glastry College	-	*	*
Glenlola Collegiate	5	*	*
Lagan College	27	11	7
Nendrum College	5	*	*
Our Lady & St Patrick’s College	10	5	7
Regent House Grammar School	*	*	*
Saintfield High School	7	-	*
Shimna Integrated College	6	6	*
St Columbanus’ College	*	*	*
St Patrick’s Grammar School	*	6	10
Strangford Integrated College	6	*	*
Sullivan Upper School	*	*	*
Wallace High School	*	6	*
Total Appeals	109	63	66

SOUTHERN EDUCATION AND LIBRARY BOARD

SCHOOL NAME	2008/09 TOTAL APPEALS	2009/10 TOTAL APPEALS	2010/11 TOTAL APPEALS
Abbey Christian Brothers’ Grammar School	12	*	5
Banbridge Academy	5	*	*
Dromore High School	*	-	-
Holy Trinity College	-	5	-
Markethill High School	*	*	-
New-Bridge Integrated College	*	*	5
Our Lady’s Grammar School	*	*	*
Royal School, Armagh	*	*	*
Royal School, Dungannon	-	*	*
Sacred Heart Grammar School	*	*	*
St Catherine’s College, Armagh	*	*	*
St Ciaran’s College	-	-	7
St Colman’s College	15	*	11
St Joseph’s Grammar School, Donaghmore	9	13	5
St Louis’ Grammar School	7	*	*
St Mark’s High School	-	*	-
St Patrick’s Academy, Dungannon	17	7	6
St Patrick’s Grammar School, Armagh	-	*	10
St Paul’s High School, Bessbrook	11	18	22
Total Appeals	93	75	95

Teachers: Additional Employment Rights

Mr W Irwin asked the Minister of Education how many teachers acquired additional employment rights while acting up in a post in each of the last five years, broken down by Education and Library Board area.

(AQW 798/11)

Minister of Education: Chuir na húdaráis fostaíochta in iúl dom go n-íoctar múinteoirí a théann i mbun post mar Phríomhoide nó mar Leas-Phríomhoide an ráta cuí pá an tráth a théann siad i mbun an phoist agus nach n-éilítear orthu cearta breise fostaíochta agus nach bhfaigheann siad cearta ar an phost buan. Ina theannta sin, cuirtear stop leis an íocaíocht bhreise a fhaightear mar gheall air seo nuair a fhilleann an múinteoir ar ais ina phríomhphost.

I have been advised by the employing authorities that teachers who act up into Principal or Vice principal posts are paid the appropriate rate of pay at the time of acting up and do not acquire additional employment rights nor do they acquire rights to the permanent post. Furthermore, the additional payment received as a result of acting up ceases when the teacher reverts to their substantive post.

When a teacher is temporarily promoted to Principal or Vice Principal they do not accrue any additional pension service credit, however they can accrue increased pension benefits if the temporary promotion is within 10 years of retirement. The Department does not collate this information.

The table below outlines the number of teachers who have acted up into Principal or Vice Principal posts in the last five academic years.

Year	BELB	WELB	NEELB	SEELB	SELB
2005/06	37	59	66	36	73
2006/07	20	43	37	33	51
2007/08	30	39	23	27	34
2008/09	15	19	20	15	22
2009/10	37	46	40	49	61

Single Education System

Mr M Storey asked the Minister of Education for her assessment of the potential benefits and relative cost of a single education system.

(AQW 802/11)

Minister of Education: Is é polasaí an Choiste Feidhmiúcháin ná go mbeidh córas amháin riaracháin san earnáil oideachais, a thacaíonn le réimse de scoileanna éagsúla. Aithníonn an polasaí gur láidreacht inár gcóras oideachais é go bhfuil réimse de scoileanna éagsúla againn, agus go bhfuil carachtar agus éiteas ar leith acu. Chomh maith leis sin, léiríonn an polasaí seo rogha na dtuismitheoirí agus rogha na bhfoghlaimeoirí.

The Executive’s policy is to have a single system of education administration, supporting a diversity of schools. This policy recognises that the diversity of school types, each with its distinctive character and ethos, is a strength of our education system. It is also a reflection of parental and learner choice.

A single system of administration will save approximately £20 million per year on administration and will provide more effective support for schools. It will also facilitate better planning of the education estate and greater collaboration and sharing among schools, as recommended in the Bain report and the recent Oxford Economics report ‘Developing the Case for Shared Education’.

This will ensure equality of access to the curriculum and better use of capital resources, whilst retaining choice for parents and pupils.

First Preference Applications

Mr M Storey asked the Minister of Education to detail the number of first preference applications made to (i) each Education and Library Board; and (ii) each post-primary school for the 2009/10 academic year.

(AQW 804/11)

Minister of Education: Tá líon na n-iarratas príomhrogha a rinneadh chun gach Bord Oideachais agus Leabharlann; agus chun gach iarbhunscoile don bhliain acadúil 2009/10 mar atá mionsonraithe sna táblaí faoi iamh.

The number of first preference applications made to each Education and Library Board; and each post-primary school for the 2009/10 academic year is as detailed in the tables attached.

First preference applications made to each Education and Library Board; and each post-primary school for the 2009/10 academic year.

BELFAST EDUCATION AND LIBRARY BOARD

School Name	Total 1st Preference Applications
Ashfield Girls' High School	119
Ashfield Boys' High School	131
Belfast Model School for Girls	141
Belfast Boys' Model School	127
Orangefield High School	25
St Patrick's College, Bearnageeha	108
St Louise's Comprehensive College	213
Little Flower Girls' School	93
Our Lady of Mercy Girls' School	47
St Rose's High School	53
Christian Brothers' Secondary School	47
St Genevieve's High School	149
St Gemma's High School	15
La Salle Boys' School	190
Corpus Christi College	74
St Joseph's College	65
Colaiste Feirste	81
Hazelwood College	149
Malone College	80
Grosvenor Grammar School	185
Wellington College	108
Bloomfield Collegiate School	116
Campbell College	117
St Mary's Christian Brothers' Grammar School	169
Methodist College	240
Royal Belfast Academical Institution	156
Belfast Royal Academy	213
St Dominic's High School	143
St Malachy's College	179
Dominican College	168
Strathearn School	129
Rathmore Grammar School	247
Victoria College	129
Hunterhouse College	82
Aquinas Diocesan Grammar School	132
Total	4420

WESTERN EDUCATION AND LIBRARY BOARD

School Name	Total 1st Preference Applications
Castlederg High School	79
Lisnaskea High School	16
Omagh High School	60
Strabane High School	53
Limavady High School	118
Devinish College	60
Lisneal College	143
St Mary's, Limavady	96
St Mary's College, Derry	123
St Mary's High School, Belleek	23
St Fanchea's College	50
St Joseph's College, Enniskillen	30
St Mary's College, Irvinestown	27
St Eugene's High School, Castlederg	21
St Patrick's & St Brigid's College	97
St Joseph's Secondary School, Derry	135
Dean Maguirc College	69
St Patrick's College, Dungiven	38
St John's Business and Enterprise College	22
St Aidan's High School, Derrylin	23
St Eugene's College, Roslea	27
St Peter's High School, Derry	26
St Cecilia's College, Derry	127
St Comhghall's College	41
St Brigid's College, Derry	95
Immaculate Conception	23
Sacred Heart College,Omagh	101
Holy Cross College, Strabane	227
Oakgrove College	136
Erne Integrated College	58
Drumragh College	122
Collegiate Grammar School, Enniskillen	84
Limavady Grammar School	137
Omagh Academy	104
Strabane Grammar School	71
Mount Lourdes Grammar	133
Portora Royal School	67
St Michael's College, Enniskillen	113
Thornhill College, Derry	215
St Columb's College	243
Christian Brothers' Grammar School, Omagh	133
Loreto Grammar School, Omagh	158
Foyle and Londonderrry College	126
Lumen Christi College	182
Total	4032

NORTH-EASTERN EDUCATION AND LIBRARY BOARD

School Name	Total 1st Preference Applications
Garvagh High School	20
Magherafelt High School	60
Larne High School	66
Carrickfergus College	79
Ballycastle High School	54
Ballymoney High School	87
Ballyclare Secondary School	187
Cullybackey High School	98
Monkstown Community School	118
Glengormley High School	103
Parkhall College	112
Dunclug College	69
Dunluce School	77
Downshire School	116
Ballee Community High School	43
Newtownabbey Community High School	22
Coleraine College	26
St Aloysius’ High School, Cushendall	4
St Comgall’s High School, Larne	22
Our Lady of Lourdes High School	32
St Patrick’s College, Ballymena	58
St Joseph’s High School, Coleraine	41
St Colm’s High School	76
St Mary’s College	34
St Paul’s College	59
St Pius X High School	147
Edmund Rice College	99
Cross & Passion College, Ballycastle	120
St Patrick’s College, Maghera	213
St Benedict’s College	82
Crumlin Integrated College	42
Slemish College, Ballymena	227
North-Coast Integrated College	62
Ulidia Integrated College	87
Sperrin Integrated College	67
Ballyclare High School	202
Coleraine High School	129
Carrickfergus Grammar School	126
Antrim Grammar School	120
Cambridge House Grammar	183
St Louis’ Grammar School, Ballymena	174
Ballymena Academy	161
Dalriada School	184
Coleraine Academical Institution	107
Loreto College	157
Larne Grammar School	100
Rainey Endowed School	115
Dominican College	77
Belfast High School	179
St Mary’s Grammar School, Magherafelt	162
St Macnissi’s College	87
Total	5345

SOUTH-EASTERN EDUCATION AND LIBRARY BOARD

School Name	Total 1st Preference Applications
Movilla High School	53
The High School, Ballynahinch	46
Nendrum College, Comber	87
Glastry College	105
Lisnagarvey High School	74
Saintfield High School	59
Knockbreda High School	44
Newtownbreda High School	60
Dunmurry High School	44
Laurelhill Community College	120
Dundonald High School	24
Bangor Academy & Sixth Form	229
St Mary’s High School	56
St Columba’s High School, Portaferry	25
St Colmcille’s High School, Crossgar	70
St Columbanus’ College, Bangor	84
St Colman’s High School, Ballynahinch	47
St Patrick’s High School, Lisburn	52
St Malachy’s High School	108
St Colm’s High School	107
De La Salle Secondary School, Downpatrick	46
Priory College	65
Fort Hill College	126
Lagan College	269
Shimna Integrated College	106
Strangford Integrated College	120
Blackwater Integrated College	45
Regent House School	235
Down High School	158
Glenlola Collegiate School	166
Bangor Grammar School	123
Sullivan Upper School	178
Friends’ School	180
Wallace High School	221
Assumption Grammar School, Ballynahinch	149
St Patrick’s Grammar School, Downpatrick	105
Our Lady & St Patrick’s College	196
Total	3982

SOUTHERN EDUCATION AND LIBRARY BOARD

School Name	Total 1st Preference Applications
Kilkeel High School	111
Newtownhamilton High School	39
Clounagh Junior High School	195
Banbridge High School	100
Killicomaine Junior High School	144
Dromore High School	133
Markethill High School	105
Fivemiletown High School	76
City of Armagh High School	22
Rathfriland High School	42
Tandragee Junior High School	73
Aughnacloy College	24
Newry High School	65
Cookstown High School	154
Drumglass High School	57
Lurgan Junior High School	195
St Joseph's Boys' High School, Newry	39
St Columban's College	41
St Mary's High School, Lurgan	141
St Patrick's College, Banbridge	49
St Paul's Junior High School, Lurgan	101
St Mary's High School	59
St Mark's High School	132
St Ciaran's High School	111
St Paul's High School, Bessbrook	263
St Brigid's High School	28
St Joseph's High School, Crossmaglen	82
St Patrick's High School, Keady	143
St Joseph's High School, Coalisland	35
Lismore Comprehensive School	190
St Catherine's College	179
Drumcree College	30
Holy Trinity College	105
St Patrick's College	73
Brownlow College	49
New-Bridge Integrated College	124
Integrated College Dungannon	49
Banbridge Academy	204
St Louis Grammar School, Kilkeel	92
Abbey Grammar School, Newry	155
Our Lady's Grammar School Newry	126
St Colman's College	142
St Joseph's Convent Grammar School	129
Sacred Heart Grammar School, Newry	129
The Royal School, Dungannon	83
The Royal School, Armagh	105
St Patrick's Grammar School, Armagh	124
St Patrick's Academy, Dungannon	216
Total	5063

Source: Education and Library Boards

Integrated Education

Mr D O'Loan asked the Minister of Education how many children who attended either (i) an integrated primary school; (ii) an integrated secondary school; or (iii) both an integrated primary and secondary school, have proceeded to further and higher education in each of the last ten years, broken down by the college or university attended.

(AQW 811/11)

Minister of Education: Ní choinníonn an Roinn eolas ar cheann scríbe na bpáistí sin a luaíodh ag cuid (i) agus ag cuid (iii) mar nach leantar taifead d’oideachas daltaí ón bhunscoil. I dtaca le cuid (ii) de, ní choinnítear eolas ar an choláiste sonrach nó ar an ollscoil shonrach ar a bhfreastalaíonn na daoine a fhágann an scoil. Tá eolas ar fáil faoi cé acu a chláraigh an fágálach scoile le hinstitiúid i dtuaisceart na hÉireann nó le hinstitiúid in áit éigin eile agus tá an t-eolas sin leagtha amach sa tábla thíos.

The Department does not hold information on the destinations of children identified at parts (i) and (iii) because the pupils have not been tracked from their primary schools. In regard to part (ii) information is not held relating to the specific college or university attended by a school leaver. Information is available on whether the school leaver enrolled at an institution in the North of Ireland or elsewhere and is presented in the table below.

Number of school leavers attending integrated post primary schools with a destination recorded as higher or further education 1998/99 to 2008/09

	Integrated(1) Post Primary Schools
	Institutions of higher and further education in the North of Ireland	Other(2) institutions of higher and further education
1998/99	350	41
1999/00	463	45
2000/01	536	83
2001/02	681	80
2002/03(3)	Not Available	Not Available
2003/04	838	140
2004/05	856	213
2005/06	828	268
2006/07	900	219
2007/08	1,025	169
2008/09	1,086	175

Source: School Leavers Survey

1. Integrated includes both Controlled Integrated and Grant Maintained Integrated schools.

2. ‘Other’ category includes institutions outside the North of Ireland and unknown destinations.

3. No data are available for the 2002/03 academic year due to difficulties with data collection and validation with schools that year.

Mobile Classrooms

Mr T Lunn asked the Minister of Education to detail (i) the number and names of schools currently using mobile classrooms only; (ii) how long each school has been using mobile classrooms; and (iii) what plans she has to resolve this situation.

(AQW 816/11)

Minister of Education: Tá 23 scoil in eastát na scoileanna atá lonnaithe i seomraí ranga soghluaiste amháin faoi láthair.

There are 23 schools in the schools’ estate currently located in mobile classrooms only.

School	Sector	Years in mobile accommodation (after recognition for recurrent funding by the Department
Scoil An Droichid	Irish Medium Primary	2001
Gaelscoil na Speiríní	Irish Medium Primary	2006
Gaelscoil na Móna	Irish medium Primary	2004
Gaelscoil Ghleann Darach	Irish Medium Primary	2007
Gaelscoil na Daróige	Irish Medium Primary	2009
Gaelscoil Éadain Mhóir	Irish Medium Primary	2001
Bunscoil an Traonaigh	Irish medium Primary	2004
Bunscoil Cholmcille Primary	Irish Medium Primary	1997
Gaelscoil Uí Dhochartaigh Strabane	Irish Medium Primary	2000
Gaelscoil na gCrann	Irish Medium Primary	2006
Bunscoil an Chaistil Primary School	Irish Medium Primary	2003
Scoil Na Fuiseoige	Irish Medium Primary	1997
Bunscoil Bheanna Boirche	Irish Medium Primary	2002
Gaelscoil Uí Néill	Irish Medium Primary	2000
Gaelscoil Éanna	Irish Medium Primary	2007
Omagh Integrated Primary School	Primary School Integrated - Grant Maintained	1994
Roe Valley Integrated Primary School	Primary School Integrated - Grant Maintained	2004
Braidside Integrated Primary School	Primary School Integrated - Grant Maintained	1994
Corran Integrated Primary School	Primary School Integrated - Grant Maintained	1994
The Maine Integrated Primary School	Primary School Integrated - Grant Maintained	2003
Phoenix Integrated Primary School	Primary School Integrated - Grant Maintained	2004
Drumlins Integrated primary	Primary School Integrated - Grant Maintained	2004
Rowandale Integrated Primary	Primary School Integrated - Grant Maintained	2007

No particular timescale is specified for the use of temporary modular accommodation. Whilst the Department would wish to see a decrease in the number of these mobiles, this can only be achieved within the confines of the available financial resources. I will continue to press the case for the much needed capital investment in the schools estate to address the problems faced from the historic underinvestment in the schools estate

Mobile Classrooms

Mr T Lunn asked the Minister of Education to detail the number of pupils who have completed (i) primary education; and (ii) post-primary education while located only in mobile classrooms.

(AQW 817/11)

Minister of Education: Ní choinníonn mo Roinn eolas ar líon na bpáistí a theagasctar i seomraí ranga soghluaiste agus bheadh costas díréireach ag baint le hé seo a bhailiú. Bheadh sé dodhéanta, go háirithe in iarbhunscoileanna, a fháil amach cá mhéad páiste a úsáideann na seomraí ranga ag aon am ar leith, rud a bhraitheann ar cén t-ábhar a n-úsáidtear an seomra ranga dó.

My Department does not hold information on the number of children taught in mobile classrooms and to have this collected could only be obtained at a disproportionate cost. In particular in post primary schools it would be impossible to establish how many children use the classrooms at any given time depending on the subject the classroom is used for.

Surplus Land

Dr A McDonnell asked the Minister of Education to detail any (i) land; and (ii) property owned by her Department which is currently deemed surplus to requirements, including the location of the land or property and any plans for its disposal.

(AQW 825/11)

Minister of Education: Níl aon talamh ná aon réadmhaoin ag an Roinn Oideachais a meastar go bhfuil siad iomarcach faoi láthair.

The Department of Education does not own any land or property which is currently deemed surplus to requirements.

Male Teachers

Dr A McDonnell asked the Minister of Education, pursuant to AQW 114/11, to list the schools in each Education and Library Board area which do not currently have any male teachers.

(AQW 878/11)

Minister of Education:

Tá an t-eolas seo sna táblaí thíos.

The information is contained in the tables below.

LIST OF PRIMARY¹ SCHOOLS WHICH DO NOT CURRENTLY HAVE ANY MALE TEACHERS

BELFAST EDUCATION AND LIBRARY BOARD

School name	Location
BALLYSILLAN PRIMARY SCHOOL	Belfast
BELMONT PRIMARY SCHOOL	Belfast
BLOOMFIELD COLLEGIATE PREP. DEPT.	Belfast
DONEGALL ROAD PRIMARY SCHOOL	Belfast
DUNDELA INFANTS SCHOOL	Belfast
EDENBROOKE PRIMARY SCHOOL	Belfast
EUSTON STREET PRIMARY SCHOOL	Belfast
FORTH RIVER PRIMARY SCHOOL	Belfast
GREENWOOD PRIMARY SCHOOL	Belfast
GROVE PRIMARY SCHOOL	Belfast
HOLY CROSS GIRLS' PRIMARY SCHOOL	Belfast
KNOCKNAGONEY PRIMARY SCHOOL	Belfast
MALVERN PRIMARY SCHOOL	Belfast
ST BERNADETTE'S PRIMARY SCHOOL	Belfast
ST JOHN THE BAPTIST GIRLS' PRIMARY SCHOOL	Belfast
STAR OF THE SEA GIRLS' PRIMARY SCHOOL	Belfast
STRATHEARN SCHOOL PREP. DEPT.	Belfast
TAUGHMONAGH PRIMARY SCHOOL	Belfast
VICTORIA COLLEGE PREP. DEPT.	Belfast

WESTERN EDUCATION AND LIBRARY BOARD

School name	Location
AGHADRUMSEE PRIMARY SCHOOL	Enniskillen
ALTISHANE PRIMARY SCHOOL	Strabane
ARTIGARVAN PRIMARY SCHOOL	Strabane
BALLOUGRY PRIMARY SCHOOL	Derry
BELLEEK CONTROLLED PRIMARY SCHOOL	Enniskillen
BREADY JUBILEE PRIMARY SCHOOL	Strabane
BRIDGEHILL PRIMARY SCHOOL	Castlederg
BROOKEBOROUGH PRIMARY SCHOOL	Enniskillen
CHRIST THE KING PRIMARY SCHOOL	Omagh
COOLEY PRIMARY SCHOOL	Omagh
CORNAGAGUE PRIMARY SCHOOL	Enniskillen
CRAIGBRACK PRIMARY SCHOOL	Derry
CUMBER CLAUDY PRIMARY SCHOOL	Derry
DENAMONA PRIMARY SCHOOL	Omagh
DERRYGONNELLY PRIMARY SCHOOL	Enniskillen
DONEMANA PRIMARY SCHOOL	Strabane
DROMORE PRIMARY SCHOOL	Omagh
DRUMLEGAGH PRIMARY SCHOOL	Omagh
DRUMLISH PRIMARY SCHOOL	Omagh
DRUMNABEY PRIMARY SCHOOL	Castlederg
DRUMRANE PRIMARY SCHOOL	Derry
ENVAGH PRIMARY SCHOOL	Omagh
ERGANAGH PRIMARY SCHOOL	Castlederg
EVISH PRIMARY SCHOOL	Strabane
FLORENCECOURT PRIMARY SCHOOL	Enniskillen
FOUNTAIN PRIMARY SCHOOL	Derry
GAELSCOIL NA GCRANN	An Ómaigh
GAELSCOIL UI DHOCARTAIGH	An Srath Bán
GILLYGOOLEY PRIMARY SCHOOL	Omagh
GORTIN PRIMARY SCHOOL	Omagh
GORTNAGARN PRIMARY SCHOOL	Omagh
GORTNAGHEY PRIMARY SCHOOL	Derry
GROARTY INTEGRATED PRIMARY SCHOOL	Derry
IRVINESTOWN PRIMARY SCHOOL	Enniskillen
JONES MEMORIAL PRIMARY SCHOOL	Enniskillen
KESH PRIMARY SCHOOL	Enniskillen
KILLYHOMMON PRIMARY SCHOOL	Enniskillen
LACK PRIMARY SCHOOL	Enniskillen
LANGFIELD PRIMARY SCHOOL	Omagh
LISBELLAW PRIMARY SCHOOL	Enniskillen
LORETO CONVENT PRIMARY SCHOOL	Omagh
MAGILLIGAN PRIMARY SCHOOL	Limavady
MAGUIRESBRIDGE PRIMARY SCHOOL	Enniskillen
NEWTOWNBUTLER PRIMARY SCHOOL	Enniskillen
NEWTOWNSTEWART MODEL PRIMARY SCHOOL	Omagh
QUEEN ELIZABETH II PRIMARY SCHOOL	Omagh
RECARSON PRIMARY SCHOOL	Omagh
ROSCAVEY PRIMARY SCHOOL	Omagh
ST ANTHONY'S PRIMARY SCHOOL	Limavady
ST BRIGID'S PRIMARY SCHOOL, GLENELLY ROAD	Omagh
ST BRIGID'S PRIMARY SCHOOL, LENAGH ROAD	Omagh
ST CAIREALL'S PRIMARY SCHOOL	Castlederg
ST CANICE'S PRIMARY SCHOOL, GLENEDRA ROAD	Derry
ST DAVOG'S SCRAGHEY PRIMARY SCHOOL	Castlederg
ST DYMPNA'S PRIMARY SCHOOL	Omagh
ST EUGENE'S PRIMARY SCHOOL	Enniskillen
ST EUGENE'S PRIMARY SCHOOL	Strabane
ST EUGENE'S PRIMARY SCHOOL	Omagh
ST FINLOUGH'S PRIMARY SCHOOL	Limavady
ST JOHN THE BAPTIST PRIMARY SCHOOL	Enniskillen
ST MARY'S GIRLS' PRIMARY SCHOOL	Strabane
ST MARY'S PRIMARY SCHOOL, KINOUGHTRAGH	Enniskillen
ST MATTHEW'S PRIMARY SCHOOL	Dungannon
ST NAILE'S PRIMARY SCHOOL	Enniskillen
ST PATRICK'S PRIMARY SCHOOL	Strabane
ST PATRICK'S PRIMARY SCHOOL, TONAGH ROAD	Enniskillen
ST PAUL'S PRIMARY SCHOOL	Enniskillen
ST PETER'S & ST PAUL'S PRIMARY SCHOOL	Derry
ST TERESA'S PRIMARY SCHOOL	Omagh

NORTH EASTERN EDUCATION AND LIBRARY BOARD

School name	Location
ALTAYESKEY PRIMARY SCHOOL	Magherafelt
ARMOY PRIMARY SCHOOL	Ballymoney
BALLYCASTLE PRIMARY SCHOOL	Ballycastle
BALLYCRAIGY PRIMARY SCHOOL	Antrim
BALLYHACKETT PRIMARY SCHOOL	Coleraine
BALLYMONEY INTEGRATED PRIMARY SCHOOL	Ballymoney
BALLYNEASE PRIMARY SCHOOL	Ballymena
BALLYTOBER PRIMARY SCHOOL	Bushmills
BALNAMORE PRIMARY SCHOOL	Ballymoney
BARNISH PRIMARY SCHOOL	Ballycastle
BELLAGHY PRIMARY SCHOOL	Magherafelt
CAIRNCASTLE PRIMARY SCHOOL	Larne
CARHILL INTEGRATED PRIMARY SCHOOL	Coleraine
CARNALBANAGH PRIMARY SCHOOL	Ballymena
CARNLOUGH CONTROLLED INTEGRATED PRIMARY SCHOOL	Ballymena
CASTLEDAWSON PRIMARY SCHOOL	Magherafelt
CREAVERY PRIMARY SCHOOL	Antrim
CULCROW PRIMARY SCHOOL	Coleraine
CULNADY PRIMARY SCHOOL	Maghera
DALRIADA SCHOOL PREP. DEPT.	Ballymoney
DAMHEAD PRIMARY SCHOOL	Coleraine
DESERTMARTIN PRIMARY SCHOOL	Magherafelt
DUNEANE PRIMARY SCHOOL	Antrim
GAELSCOIL EANNA	Baile Nua na Mainistreach
GAELSCOIL NA CHASTIL	Baile an Chaistil
GAELSCOIL NA SPEIRINI	Machaire Fíolta
GARRYDUFF PRIMARY SCHOOL	Ballymoney
GLYNN PRIMARY SCHOOL	Larne
GORRAN PRIMARY SCHOOL	Coleraine
HARRYVILLE PRIMARY SCHOOL	Ballymena
HAZELBANK PRIMARY SCHOOL	Ballymena
KILBRIDE PRIMARY SCHOOL	Ballyclare
KILCOAN PRIMARY SCHOOL	Larne
KILLOWEN PRIMARY SCHOOL	Coleraine
KILMOYLE PRIMARY SCHOOL	Ballymoney
KILROSS PRIMARY SCHOOL	Magherafelt
KIRKINRIOLA PRIMARY SCHOOL	Ballymena
LANDHEAD PRIMARY SCHOOL	Ballymoney
LONGSTONE PRIMARY SCHOOL	Ballymena
LOURDES PRIMARY SCHOOL	Carrickfergus
MAINE INTEGRATED PRIMARY SCHOOL	Randalstown
MALLUSK PRIMARY SCHOOL	Newtownabbey
MONEYNICK PRIMARY SCHOOL	Antrim
MOORFIELDS PRIMARY SCHOOL	Ballymena
MULLAGHDUBH PRIMARY SCHOOL	Larne
PARKGATE PRIMARY SCHOOL	Ballyclare
RASHARKIN PRIMARY SCHOOL	Ballymena
RATHENRAW INTEGRATED PRIMARY SCHOOL	Antrim
SILVERSTREAM PRIMARY SCHOOL	Carrickfergus
ST BRIGID'S PRIMARY SCHOOL TIRKANE	Maghera
ST CIARAN'S PRIMARY SCHOOL	Ballymena
ST COLUMBA'S PRIMARY SCHOOL, BOLERAN ROAD	Coleraine
ST COLUMB'S PRIMARY SCHOOL (CULLION)	Magherafelt
ST JOSEPH'S PRIMARY SCHOOL	Antrim
ST MACNISIUS' PRIMARY SCHOOL	Antrim
ST MARY'S PRIMARY SCHOOL	Ballycastle
ST MARY'S PRIMARY SCHOOL, BALLYMENA ROAD	Ballymena
ST OLCAN'S PRIMARY SCHOOL	Ballymoney
ST PAUL'S PRIMARY SCHOOL	Ballymena
STRAIDBILLY PRIMARY SCHOOL	Ballymoney
STRAIDHAVERN PRIMARY SCHOOL	Crumlin
THE WM PINKERTON MEMORIAL PRIMARY SCHOOL	Ballymoney
THOMPSON PRIMARY SCHOOL	Ballyclare
TILDARG PRIMARY SCHOOL	Ballyclare
TIR-NA-NOG PRIMARY SCHOOL	Ballyclare
TOREAGH PRIMARY SCHOOL	Larne
UPPER BALLYBOLEY PRIMARY SCHOOL	Ballyclare
WOODBURN PRIMARY SCHOOL	Carrickfergus

SOUTH EASTERN EDUCATION AND LIBRARY BOARD

School name	Location
ALEXANDER DICKSON PRIMARY SCHOOL	Newtownards
BALLYCLOUGHAN PRIMARY SCHOOL	Saintfield
BALLYKEIGLE PRIMARY SCHOOL	Newtownards
BALLYVESTER PRIMARY SCHOOL	Donaghadee
BALLYWALTER PRIMARY SCHOOL	Newtownards
CARR PRIMARY SCHOOL	Lisburn
CARRICKMANNON PRIMARY SCHOOL	Newtownards
CEDAR INTEGRATED PRIMARY SCHOOL	Crossgar
CUMRAN PRIMARY SCHOOL	Downpatrick
DOWN HIGH SCHOOL PREP. DEPT.	Downpatrick
DUNMURRY PRIMARY SCHOOL	Belfast
FRIENDS SCHOOL PREP. DEPT.	Lisburn
GLENLOLA COLLEGIATE PREP. DEPT.	Bangor
HOLYWOOD PRIMARY SCHOOL	Holywood
KILLYLEAGH PRIMARY SCHOOL	Downpatrick
LEAD HILL PRIMARY SCHOOL	Belfast
NEWCASTLE PRIMARY SCHOOL	Newcastle
REDBURN PRIMARY SCHOOL	Holywood
REGENT HOUSE SCHOOL PREP. DEPT.	Newtownards
ST CAOLAN'S PRIMARY SCHOOL	Ballynahinch
ST JOSEPH'S PRIMARY SCHOOL, BALLYCRUTTLE ROAD	Downpatrick
ST MACARTAN'S PRIMARY SCHOOL	Downpatrick
ST MALACHY'S PRIMARY SCHOOL	Newry
ST MARY'S PRIMARY SCHOOL	Saintfield
TONAGH PRIMARY SCHOOL	Lisburn
VICTORIA PRIMARY SCHOOL (BALLYHALBERT)	Newtownards

SOUTHERN EDUCATION AND LIBRARY BOARD

School name	Location
AGHAVILLY PRIMARY SCHOOL	Armagh
ANAMAR PRIMARY SCHOOL	Newry
AUGHER CENTRAL PRIMARY SCHOOL	Augher
BALLYLIFFORD PRIMARY SCHOOL	Cookstown
BALLYTREA PRIMARY SCHOOL	Dungannon
BIRCHES PRIMARY SCHOOL	Craigavon
BLEARY PRIMARY SCHOOL	Craigavon
BLESSED PATRICK O'LOUGHRAN PRIMARY SCHOOL	Dungannon
BUSH PRIMARY SCHOOL	Dungannon
CARNTALL PRIMARY SCHOOL	Clogher
CHURCHILL PRIMARY SCHOOL	Caledon
CHURCHTOWN PRIMARY SCHOOL	Cookstown
CLARE PRIMARY SCHOOL	Tandragee
CLEA PRIMARY SCHOOL	Keady
CLOGHER REGIONAL PRIMARY SCHOOL	Clogher
CLONTIFLEECE PRIMARY SCHOOL	Warrenpoint
COAGH PRIMARY SCHOOL	Cookstown
CORTAMLET PRIMARY SCHOOL	Newry
CRAIGAVON PRIMARY SCHOOL	Craigavon
DERRYLATINEE PRIMARY SCHOOL	Dungannon
DONAGHEY PRIMARY SCHOOL	Dungannon
DONAGHMORE PRIMARY SCHOOL	Dungannon
DROMORE ROAD PRIMARY SCHOOL	Warrenpoint
DRUMSALLEN PRIMARY SCHOOL	Armagh
DUNGANNON PRIMARY SCHOOL	Dungannon
HAMILTONSBAWN PRIMARY SCHOOL	Armagh
KEADY PRIMARY SCHOOL	Armagh
KILBRONEY INTEGRATED PRIMARY SCHOOL	Newry
KILLEAN PRIMARY SCHOOL	Newry
KILLYMAN PRIMARY SCHOOL	Dungannon
LAGHEY PRIMARY SCHOOL	Dungannon
LISFEARTY PRIMARY SCHOOL	Dungannon
LISNADILL PRIMARY SCHOOL	Armagh
MILLTOWN PRIMARY SCHOOL	Banbridge
MONEYDARRAGH PRIMARY SCHOOL	Newry
MOUNT ST CATHERINE'S PRIMARY SCHOOL	Armagh
MOUNTNORRIS PRIMARY SCHOOL	Armagh
MOY REGIONAL PRIMARY SCHOOL	Dungannon
MULLAGHGLASS PRIMARY SCHOOL	Newry
MULLAVILLY PRIMARY SCHOOL	Tandragee
NEWMILLS PRIMARY SCHOOL	Dungannon
POYNTZPASS PRIMARY SCHOOL	Poyntzpass
QUEEN ELIZABETH II (POMEROY) PRIMARY SCHOOL	Dungannon
RICHMOND PRIMARY SCHOOL	Dungannon
ROYAL SCHOOL PREP. DEPT.	Armagh
ST BRIGID'S (DRUMILLY) PRIMARY SCHOOL	Belleek
ST BRIGID'S PRIMARY SCHOOL	Augher
ST CLARE'S CONVENT PRIMARY SCHOOL	Newry
ST JOHN'S EGLISH PRIMARY SCHOOL	Craigavon
ST JOHN'S PRIMARY SCHOOL	Newry
ST JOSEPH'S PRIMARY SCHOOL	Caledon
ST LAURENCE O'TOOLE'S PRIMARY SCHOOL	Belleek
ST MACARTAN'S PRIMARY SCHOOL	Clogher
ST MALACHY'S PRIMARY SCHOOL	Magherafelt
ST MARY'S PRIMARY SCHOOL	Cookstown
ST MARY'S PRIMARY SCHOOL	Fivemiletown
ST PATRICK'S PRIMARY SCHOOL	Magherafelt
ST PATRICK'S PRIMARY SCHOOL, BALLYMACBREDAN ROAD	Craigavon
ST PATRICK'S PRIMARY SCHOOL, LONGSTONE ROAD	Newry
ST PATRICK'S PRIMARY SCHOOL, MULLANAHOE ROAD	Dungannon
THE DRELINCOURT INFANTS SCHOOL	Armagh
WOODS PRIMARY SCHOOL	Magherafelt

Source: Teacher Payroll and Pensions Administration System

Note:

1. Includes preparatory departments of grammar schools.

Foyle and Londonderry College at Clooney

Mr M Durkan asked the Minister of Education for an update on the provision of a new build for Foyle and Londonderry College at Clooney.

(AQW 908/11)

Minister of Education: Tá an tionscadal le scoil nua a thógáil do Foyle & Londonderry College ar an suíomh ag Cluanaidh ag luathchéim den phleanáil. Fuair mo Roinn aighneacht Chéim C (pleananna tosaigh léaráide agus costais) ar 23 Meán Fómhair 2010.

The project to build a new school for Foyle & Londonderry College on the Clooney site is at an early stage of planning. The Stage C submission (initial sketch plans and costs) was received in my Department on 23 September 2010.

The project remains on my Department’s Investment Delivery Plan however the timing as to when it might be taken forward can only be considered when the capital budget for the coming years has been determined.

I will of course continue to press the case for significant capital funds for the schools estate.

Primary School Teachers

Mr T Burns asked the Minister of Education, pursuant to AQW 114/11, to list the name and address of each of the 244 schools who do not employ any male teachers, broken down by constituency; and to state whether each school teaches all male, all female or mixed gender pupils.

(AQW 909/11)

Minister of Education: Tá sé socraithe agam go gcuirfear an t-eolas a iarradh sa Leabharlann.

I have arranged to have the information requested placed in the Library.

Schools: South Antrim

Mr P Girvan asked the Minister of Education how much has been spent on the maintenance of schools in the South Antrim area over the last three years.

(AQO 199/11)

Minister of Education: Is eol dom go maith an tábhacht a bhaineann lena chinntiú go gcothabháiltear an t-eastát scoile go hiomchuí le stop a chur le meath do-ghlactha na bhfoirgneamh agus lena chinntiú go bhfuil timpeallacht foghlama ag daoine óga agus ag múinteoir atá oiriúnach don fheidhm.

I am acutely aware of the importance of ensuring that the schools’ estate is appropriately maintained to prevent unacceptable deterioration of the buildings and to ensure our young people and teachers have a learning environment that is kept fit for purpose.

I have continually highlighted the need for the investment in our schools estate to be prioritised and protected and also that significant investment is needed in our schools’ estate to tackle the high levels of maintenance backlog.

In the last 3 years I have provided over £80 million for school maintenance. In addition, I have allocated an extra £12.9m for maintenance in 2010/11.

The maintenance expenditure on the schools in the South Antrim area is £4.2m from 2007/08 to 2009/10 and the backlog for this area is currently £10.9m.

Equality and All-Ireland Directorate

Mr R McCartney asked the Minister of Education to outline the work of the Equality and All Ireland Directorate to date.

(AQO 201/11)

Minister of Education: Tá m’fhís don chóras oideachais bunaithe ar phrionsabal an chomhionannais deise do gach páiste agus do gach duine óg.

My vision for our education system is founded on the principle of equality of opportunity for all children and young people. A system in which every school is a good school; and no child is denied the opportunity to succeed.

To achieve that, the principle of equality must be the thread running through every aspect of my Department: its vision and values; in policies – such as ending academic selection, encouraging and facilitating Irish-medium and integrated education; meeting additional educational needs. It should also be reflected in the allocation of resources; and in the reform of education administration.

Alongside that, I aim to strengthen and deepen north-south co-operation on policy development and delivery, recognising the common educational challenges that face young people north and south; and our shared interest in equipping our young people to secure their future; and to fuel and drive our economy.

My Department’s Equality and All Ireland Directorate provides a specific focus for this. The Directorate ensures that equality considerations are paramount within the work of all the other directorates, exercising a challenge and co-ordination role that spans all of the Department’s functions.

Schools: Community Use

Mr D McNarry asked the Minister of Education whether she will publish the report on enhancing the community use of school premises produced by the Working Group of key educational stakeholders.

(AQO 202/11)

Minister of Education: Chuir mé an grúpa oibre ar bun le go bhféadfadh an Roinn moltaí a fháil ar an bhealach is fearr le húsáid áitreabh scoileanna a mhéadú (taobh amuigh d’uaireanta scoile) do dhaltaí, dá gcuid teaghlach agus don phobal i gcoitinne.

I established the working group so that the Department could receive suggestions and recommendations on how best to increase the use (outside of school hours) of school premises by pupils, their families and the wider communities. The suggestions and recommendations contained in the report are intended for DE and ESA to inform policy and operations in relation to enhancing community use of school premises.

The Working Group has provided the department with its report and my officials have been analysing the recommendations to establish any resource, legal or legislative implications of the recommendations. There are a number of recommendations which directly impact upon the statutory functions of other government departments and public bodies and given the range of issues identified a view from each department is required on the suitability of the recommendations. This exercise is ongoing. When I have had the opportunity to consider all responses I will bring forward guidance for schools.

It may not be possible or practical to implement all the recommendations made by the Working Group. However for future reference, there would be merit in sharing the recommendations more widely and I will, therefore, publish the report alongside the new guidance for schools.

Dyslexia: Educational Support

Mr B McElduff asked the Minister of Education what educational support services are available for children with dyslexia.

(AQO 203/11)

Minister of Education: Tá tugtha le fios ag Príomhfheidhmeannaigh na mBord Oideachais agus Leabharlann dom go bhfuil réimse seirbhísí tacaíochta oideachais agus soláthair oideachais ar fáil do thuismitheoirí agus do scoileanna le haghaidh páiste ar aithníodh a raibh disléicse air nó uirthi.

I have been advised by the Chief Executives of the Education and Library Boards that a range of educational support services and provision is available to parents and schools for a child identified with dyslexia. These include:

• dyslexia awareness training to schools (and parents) tailored to enhance the capacity of teachers to identify and respond appropriately in addressing dyslexia;
• a range of strategies, resources and computer assisted programmes available to pupils with dyslexia for whom more traditional methods are unsuccessful;
• personalised teaching and support for individual pupils may also be provided for certain pupils from specialist teachers;
• all Educational Psychologists are trained and skilled in the assessment and identification of dyslexia. The Educational Psychologists provide a comprehensive range of support including recommendations and resources to parents and schools to assist the pupil achieve his/her potential;
• a range of publications and resources, developed by the Boards’ Peripatetic Services, including phonics and spelling programmes is also available; and
• Special Access Arrangements for examinations, including where appropriate, provision of extra time, readers and scribes.

When children who are thought to have dyslexia are put forward for assessment at Stage 3 of the Code of Practice on the Identification and Assessment of Special Educational Needs, they are either screened for additional Board support by psychology assistants or educational psychologistS. They use a large battery of cognitive and attainment tests in the identification of dyslexia. Agreed five-Board criteria for additional Stage 3 and Stage 5 support are applied in each case;

Some schools have achieved or are working towards achievement of Dyslexia Friendly status usually in association with the British Dyslexia Association. Schools are supported by the Board services in achieving this award;

Furthermore from 2004/05 to 2007/08, the Department of Education provided an additional £2m to the five ELBS to provide training for teachers in identification techniques relating to dyslexia;

DE has also been involved in producing classroom resources to support positive interventions. A complementary video, CD-ROM and DVD-ROM on Dyslexia, produced by a joint working group from DE and the Department for Education and Skills in Dublin, and a guide for teachers "Developing a Dyslexia Friendly Learning Environment", have been distributed to all schools in the North.

Transfer 2010

Mr C McDevitt asked the Minister of Education for her assessment of the effectiveness of Transfer 2010.

(AQO 204/11)

Minister of Education: Tá mé tiomanta comhionannas a chur i gcroílár na n-athchóirithe san earnáil oideachais. Tá Aistriú 2010 agus athchóirithe eile san earnáil oideachais mar chuid de phróiseas leanúnach athraithe a mbeidh córas oideachais bunaithe ar an chomhionannas, ar dheis agus ar an sármhaitheas de thoradh air.

I am committed to putting equality at the centre of education reforms. Transfer 2010 and other education reforms are part of an ongoing transformation process that will result in an education system founded on equality, opportunity and excellence.

152 out of 219 post-primary schools (69%) followed my Department’s Transfer 2010 advice not to use academic selection. I commend any school that moves away from a failed system of academic selection and my Department will continue to do all in its power to facilitate progressive change of this nature. Schools using breakaway tests must face up to their responsibility to play a full and willing part in meeting the needs of all children in our community, not just the academically gifted and able.

I am determined to continue reforming our education system, ending academic selection and rejection of our children, and putting equality at the core of my Department’s policies.

The delivery of the revised curriculum in our primary schools is a success. It must not be distorted by the actions of a minority of schools using breakaway tests. Primary principals and their trade union representatives should be commended for their support in ensuring this does not happen.

My Department’s policy on post-primary transfer from September 2010, covering Transfer 2011 and beyond, was published on 5 July 2010.

Interim operational guidance on Transfer 2011 issued to schools on 16 September 2010 and further detailed guidance will issue shortly.

Literacy and Numeracy Strategy

Mr J Dallat asked the Minister of Education when she will bring forward the revised Literacy and Numeracy Strategy.

(AQO 205/11)

Minister of Education: Beidh mé ag foilsiú na straitéise athbhreithnithe um litearthacht agus uimhearthacht ar ball sna seachtainí atá romhainn. Tá mé ag súil go mór le tacaíocht na gComhaltaí ar an doiciméad tábhachtach seo.

I will publish the revised literacy and numeracy strategy in the coming weeks. I look forward to Members’ support for this important document.

The strategy aims to ensure that more of our young people leave school with good levels of literacy and numeracy. Along with my wider reforms aimed at raising standards, the strategy will make a key contribution to the development of our economy.

School Admissions: Bangor Academy

Mr B Wilson asked the Minister of Education how many children from Bangor were unable to obtain a place at Bangor Academy under Transfer 2010; and where these children finally obtained a place.

(AQO 206/11)

Minister of Education: Bhí tríocha páiste as Beannchar nach raibh ábalta áit a fháil in Bangor Academy and Sixth Form College faoi Aistriú 2010. Fuair na páistí sin áiteanna i scoileanna eile mar seo a leanas:

Thirty children from Bangor were unable to obtain a place at Bangor Academy and Sixth Form College under Transfer 2010. These children went on to be placed as follows:

Movilla High School	6
St Columbanus’ College	5
Priory College	14
Strangford College	3
Glenlola Collegiate	1
Malone College	1

 Source: South Eastern Education and Library Board

Budget

Mr A Ross asked the Minister of Education whether she has instructed her officials to identify areas of her budget in which savings could be found.

(AQO 207/11)

Minister of Education: The creation of the Education and Skills Authority as part of the Review of Public Administration would also release significant savings in administration and management costs each year for directing to front-line service delivery and improving educational standards.

Déanann mo chuid feidhmeannach grinnmhonatóireacht ar an chaiteachas ar fad ar bhonn leanúnach lena chinntiú go bhfaigheann an Roinn an luach is fearr agus an tairbhe is mó ó na hacmhainní ar fad a úsáideann siad.

My officials monitor closely all expenditure on an ongoing basis to ensure that the Department secures best value and maximum benefit for all the resources it deploys. As part of that work, officials also look to identify potential efficiencies and savings which would help ease pressures on the budget, so that the department’s priorities continue to be delivered and front-line services protected as far as possible.

Special Educational Needs and Inclusion

Ms M Ritchie asked the Minister of Education when she will publish the responses to the consultation on Special Educational Needs and Inclusion.

(AQO 208/11)

Minister of Education: Tá mionanailís leanúnach á déanamh ag an Roinn ar an iliomad freagraí a fuarthas mar chuid den chomhairliúchán ar Gach Scoil ina Scoil Mhaith: An Bealach Chun Tosaigh do Riachtanais Speisialta Oideachais agus Chuimsiú.

The Department is carrying out an ongoing detailed analysis of the many responses received following consultation on Every School a Good School: The Way Forward for Special Educational Needs and Inclusion.

It is intended that a factual summary of these responses will be published for access by all stakeholders later this year.

DEPARTMENT FOR EMPLOYMENT AND LEARNING

New Campus in Coleraine

Mr J Dallat asked the Minister for Employment and Learning for an update on the provision of a new campus in Coleraine for the Northern Regional College.

(AQW 716/11)

Minister for Employment and Learning (Sir Reg Empey): A Strategic Outline Case, jointly prepared and submitted to my Department by the Northern and Southern Regional Colleges, includes a recommendation to replace the existing campuses at Coleraine and Ballymoney with a new build in Coleraine. The Strategic Outline Case is currently being considered by the Department and a bid for the related funding has been made in the Comprehensive Spending Review and the Investment Strategy for Northern Ireland version 3.

McGurk and Moore

Ms M Anderson asked the Minister for Employment and Learning (i) for his assessment of the future of jobs for the 32 workers at the property maintenance company, McGurk and Moore, following the recent loss of a contract to Omega; (ii) whether TUPE legislation will apply in this case; and (iii) whether he will seek a resolution to the dispute between these two rival companies.

(AQW 951/11)

Minister for Employment and Learning: I am not in a position to comment on the future of jobs for the workers at McGurk and Moore, since that is an employment matter between that company and the contractor Omega. While the Department for Employment and Learning has responsibility for the development and establishment of the framework of employment law in Northern Ireland, it cannot provide advice on, or intervene in, individual employment law matters, such as ascertaining whether TUPE applies in individual cases, or carrying out the type of dispute resolution that you have requested.

However, should it arise that workers are made redundant, then the Department can provide information and advice, to help them find alternative employment or improve their skills through the Department’s employment, training and further education programmes. Employment Service officials work in partnership with a variety of organisations, to offer a wide range of services to workers affected by redundancy.

For further information and independent advice on Northern Ireland employment law matters, including conciliation, those involved may wish to contact the Labour Relations Agency:

Labour Relations Agency
2-8 Gordon Street
Belfast
BT1 2LG
Tel: (028) 9032 1442

Further information is available on business transfers and TUPE on the http://www.nidirect.gov.uk/ website.

DEPARTMENT OF ENTERPRISE, TRADE AND INVESTMENT

HMRC

Mr B McElduff asked the Minister of Enterprise, Trade and Investment whether she can liaise with HMRC to ensure greater accessibility for local companies to renegotiate payment schedules and terms and conditions during the current economic downturn.

(AQW 475/11)

Minister of Enterprise, Trade and Investment (Mrs A Foster): I have written on a number of occasions to HMRC to intervene on behalf of Invest NI Client Companies experiencing difficulties in meeting their payment obligations due to short term cash flow problems; and HMRC has responded positively.

My policy officials have had contact with HMRC in the past in relation to initiatives they are taking to improve their services to business in Northern Ireland. These contacts will be maintained.

HMRC is also a member of the Better Regulation Stakeholders Forum, chaired by my Department.

Northern Ireland Tourist Board

Mr G Savage asked the Minister of Enterprise, Trade and Investment why the Northern Ireland Tourist Board has not engaged with local companies in relation to ground handling at cruise ships, in order to benefit and boost the local economy.

(AQW 601/11)

Minister of Enterprise, Trade and Investment: The Northern Ireland Tourist Board (NITB) welcomes engagement with all organisations with an interest in tourism and the local economy and offers a comprehensive industry development programme and an extensive range of industry communications and publications.

Local authorities across Northern Ireland liaise directly with the organisations which own and operate the cruise liners. In Belfast this relationship is managed by the Belfast Visitor & Convention Bureau (BVCB) and in Londonderry by the Derry Visitor & Convention Bureau (DVCB). NITB does not engage directly with individual organisations operating cruise liners. Cruise liners select the ground handler(s) that they wish to work with based on their own commercial needs.

Northern Ireland Tourist Board

Mr G Savage asked the Minister of Enterprise, Trade and Investment to outline (i) the support the Northern Ireland Tourist Board provides to local ground handlers of cruise ships; and (ii) whether the Northern Ireland Tourist Board has encouraged the use of local ground handlers.

(AQW 602/11)

(i) Minister of Enterprise, Trade and Investment: The Northern Ireland Tourist Board (NITB) does not provide a specific programme of support for ground handlers. Local ground handling companies are encouraged to competitively apply for support according to the established criteria through the Tourism Development Scheme (TDS) or Tourism Innovation Fund (TIF). Although, both are currently closed to applications.

(ii) NITB has no remit to encourage the use of a local ground handling company by a cruise liner. The cruise liner will select the ground handler(s) that they wish to work with based on their own commercial needs. In addition local authorities across Northern Ireland liaise directly with the organisations which own and operate the cruise liners. In Belfast this relationship is managed by Belfast Visitor & Convention Bureau (BVCB) and in Londonderry by Derry Visitor & Convention Bureau (DVCB).

Brown Tourist Signs

Mr D Kinahan asked the Minister of Enterprise, Trade and Investment what discussions she has had with the Minister of the Environment on the potential for relaxing the planning rules to which brown signs are subject, with particular reference to brown tourist signs highlighting Springhill and Sentry Hill in Co. Antrim.

(AQW 637/11)

Minister of Enterprise, Trade and Investment: As Minister of Enterprise, Trade and Investment I have had no discussions with the Minister of the Environment Edwin Poots MLA, or his predecessor Sammy Wilson MP MLA regarding the Tourist Signing in Northern Ireland Policy.

The Northern Ireland Tourist Board (NITB) and Road Service, the Executive Agency within the Department of Regional Development (DRD), operate the joint policy in relation to the provision of white-on-brown tourist signs in Northern Ireland. A full copy of the policy and operating procedures is available on www.nitb.com. The general principles and purpose of tourist signing is to assist in the management of traffic and to ensure the safe operation of the road network. It is not intended that signs be used as advertising for the tourist destination.

It is the Northern Ireland Tourist Boards understanding that white on brown signs provide directional signage to both Springhill and Sentry Hill attractions.

I have recently asked officials from my department and the Northern Ireland Tourist Board to request a meeting with DRD to carefully examine and review the current policy.

Renewable Energy

Mr P Weir asked the Minister of Enterprise, Trade and Investment to detail the schemes her Department provides or intends to provide to increase the usage of renewable energy.

(AQW 685/11)

Minister of Enterprise, Trade and Investment: The Northern Ireland Renewables Obligation (NIRO) is government’s main mechanism for incentivising renewable electricity generation in Northern Ireland. In March 2010 I amended the NIRO to provide greater levels of incentive to generators using wind, hydro and solar photovoltaic technologies and my Department is currently consulting on further changes to increase the incentivisation for electricity generated from anaerobic digestion.

My Department has just completed a study into options for future incentivisation of renewable electricity in Northern Ireland. The Department must take account of (a) the impact of subsidies on electricity bills and (b) the ability of any particular incentive mechanism to deliver Northern Ireland’s overall target of 40% electricity from renewable generation by 2020. An announcement was planned for 2010, however this will now have to wait until the Coalition Government has a settled way forward on incentivising electricity in Britain.

My Department will shortly begin work on a full economic analysis of a Renewable Heat Incentive (RHI) for Northern Ireland, with a view to introducing such a scheme providing it proves economically viable to do so.  

Invest NI funds a number of programmes in Northern Ireland which support the identification and deployment of resource-efficient measures in industry. These programmes include the Carbon Trust which helps businesses to reduce energy consumption through the provision of direct one to one advice and information, training, free literature, technical seminars and a free helpline. Carbon Trust also manages an interest free loan fund and it is through this that it can accelerate the deployment of energy efficient and/or renewable energy technologies in industry, where it is economic to do so.

The Carbon Trust Loan Fund offers an interest free loan of up to £100k to assist businesses to install energy efficient or renewable energy technologies. The Loan Fund is a revolving loan fund with £8.3 million having been invested by Invest NI to date.

Invest NI also offers consultancy support to SME client companies to scope or implement material or energy saving projects and is especially targeted at those which are risk averse and/or do not have the technical capability to take projects forward. Its overall aim is to encourage client businesses to move from awareness of resource efficiency issues into action. Site visits and advice and information on sustainable energy including renewable energy, solutions are also available from in-house experts where this is appropriate.

Surplus Land

Dr A McDonnell asked the Minister of Enterprise, Trade and Investment to detail any (i) land; and (ii) property owned by her Department which is currently deemed surplus to requirements, including the location of the land or property and any plans for its disposal.

(AQW 826/11)

Minister of Enterprise, Trade and Investment: The Department owns no land or property which is deemed surplus to requirements.

Employment: Renewable Energy

Mr S Moutray asked the Minister of Enterprise, Trade and Investment to outline what Invest NI is doing to encourage jobs in the renewable energy sector.

(AQO 230/11)

Minister of Enterprise, Trade and Investment: Northern Ireland is well placed to exploit the opportunities arising within the renewable sector by virtue of its strong knowledge base, skilled engineering capability and favorable geographical location.

Invest NI has designated resources to identify business opportunities in the sector and build awareness of these within local industry.

For example, it has developing profiles of more than 400 companies with capability in the sector and these will be marketed at relevant events.

Support has been provided for companies to attend and exhibit at a number of key events, including the All Energy event in Aberdeen in May 2010. Estimated sales of almost £16 million over the next 36 months have been projected as a result of the contacts made by local companies.

Also, since April 2009, Invest NI clients in the sector have received financial assistance of £5.2 million leveraging total investment costs of £25.6 million.

Tourism: GB Visitors

Lord Browne asked the Minister of Enterprise, Trade and Investment for her assessment of the annual decrease in the number of visitors from Great Britain to Northern Ireland since 2004.

(AQO 231/11)

Minister of Enterprise, Trade and Investment: The annual decrease in visitor numbers from GB must be seen in the context of the overall outbound market from Great Britain where there was almost no growth in British holiday trips to Europe between 2005 and 2008. In 2009, the global economic recession and a decline in consumer confidence contributed further to the decline.

However latest preliminary figures for June 2010, indicate that the GB market to Northern Ireland may be beginning to turn around with 15 % growth in trips compared to June 2009. Tourism Ireland is committed to working intensively with this market to ensure return to growth.

Cross-border Projects

Mrs M Bradley asked the Minister of Enterprise, Trade and Investment what action her Department is taking to encourage cross-border projects in the North West, harnessing the potential of Project Kelvin.

(AQO 232/11)

Minister of Enterprise, Trade and Investment: Officials from my Department have been actively engaged with representatives of the North West Region Cross Border Group to provide feedback on a proposed project to seek Interreg IVA funding to utilise the international connectivity resulting from Project Kelvin.

Project Kelvin is a significant part of our world class telecommunications infrastructure. In order to ensure that we exploit this infrastructure fully, I have asked the MATRIX Panel to conduct a study into market opportunities arising as result of that infrastructure. The report will be available shortly.

Broadband

Mr J Craig asked the Minister of Enterprise, Trade and Investment for an update on the multi-million pound investment to improve broadband speed for businesses in urban and rural areas; and what will be the minimum speed available.

(AQO 233/11)

Minister of Enterprise, Trade and Investment: The investment roll-out is progressing well and remains on track for completion by May 2011. The contract will deliver a minimum of 2 Megabytes per second to businesses across Northern Ireland. However some businesses located close to the upgraded access points could experience speeds in excess of 30 Megabytes.

Tourism Development Scheme

Miss M McIlveen asked the Minister of Enterprise, Trade and Investment when the next Northern Ireland Tourist Board Tourism Development Scheme will be available, in view of the considerable interest from the private sector in tourism areas such as Ards.

(AQO 234/11)

Minister of Enterprise, Trade and Investment: The Northern Ireland Tourist Board’s recent calls for applications under the Tourism Development Scheme 2006 to 2008 and 2008 to 2011 have been significantly oversubscribed and in total offers of financial assistance were made to 42 projects committing over seven million pounds of capital support.

The Northern Ireland Tourist Board recognizes the importance of continued capital support for the tourism sector. However, it will not be possible to launch a further round until the outcome of the Executive’s Budget process is known.

Programme for Government: Targets

Mr S Hamilton asked the Minister of Enterprise, Trade and Investment of her assessment of whether the Programme for Government targets PSA 1 and PSA 3 will be met.

(AQO 235/11)

Minister of Enterprise, Trade and Investment: My department leads on the improving productivity Public Service Agreement, PSA 1, in the Executive’s Programme for Government.

In terms of the measures to improve PSA 1, the latest update indicates that over 60% are on target for delivery, with a number already achieved, or in some cases even exceeded.

However, as the Programme for Government recognises, the PSA targets were first set in a different global economic climate and this explains the shortfall in performance for some targets, particularly those relating to exports and jobs promoted.

My department continues to be focused on maximising the level of achievement on all the PSA indicators it has responsibility for.

In addition, my department is accountable for 6 of the targets which feed into the increasing employment PSA, although the Department for Employment and Learning has overall responsibility for this PSA.

Northern Ireland Electricity

Mr B Armstrong asked the Minister of Enterprise, Trade and Investment what discussions she has had with her Executive colleagues concerning the proposed sale of Northern Ireland Electricity's transmission and distribution network to the Electricity Supply Board.

(AQO 236/11)

Minister of Enterprise, Trade and Investment: I have had informal discussions with various Executive colleagues, including the First Minister.

Green Deal

Mr R Beggs asked the Minister of Enterprise, Trade and Investment to outline the opportunities presented by the 'Green Deal' launched by the Department of Energy and Climate Change.

(AQO 237/11)

Minister of Enterprise, Trade and Investment: The Department of Energy and Climate Change, DECC, offers substantial opportunities to retrofit energy efficiency in a significant number of domestic and non domestic buildings, create new jobs, whilst also reducing energy bills and carbon emissions. Financing will be provided by the private sector through the establishment of Green Deal providers.

Job creation potential exists for suppliers and installers of energy efficient products and the corresponding supply chain.

The DECC Green Deal, which has yet to be publically consulted on, applies to GB only; similar consultation and legislative changes would be needed here to implement such a scheme.

It is also worth noting that the Green New Deal Group for Northern Ireland is developing a proposal for a pilot scheme for the Barcroft/Loanda area of Newry Low Carbon City Zone.

Northern Ireland Electricity

Ms M Anderson asked the Minister of Enterprise, Trade and Investment to outline her discussions with the Irish Minister for Communications, Energy and Natural Resources in relation to the proposed sale of Northern Ireland Electricity to the Electricity Supply Board, including any assurances she has received about the Electricity Supply Board's investment plans.

(AQO 238/11)

Minister of Enterprise, Trade and Investment: I have met with the Irish Energy Minister Eamon Ryan TD, and senior representatives from NIE and ESB, in relation to the planned transaction, and have obtained assurances on a range of issues. These include the importance of maintaining existing NIE jobs, that NIE will continue to be operated as a separate entity in Northern Ireland and that there will be local representation on the ESB Board.

ESB has also given assurances of their commitment to fund future investment in the Northern Ireland electricity network to ensure that renewable energy targets, in particular, are met.

The Northern Ireland Authority for Utility Regulation will be undertaking a consultation on any new licence conditions and this will consider a range of issues, including those relating to capital investment.

DEPARTMENT OF THE ENVIRONMENT

General Grant

Mr P Weir asked the Minister of the Environment to explain how the de-rating element of the general grant to local councils is calculated.

(AQW 603/11)

Minister of the Environment (Mr E Poots): A statutory de-rating formula allows for the calculation of district rates income lost to councils as a result of DFP de-rating policy. The policy supports the following rate reductions:-

• Sport and Recreation property (currently 80 per cent derated)
• Industrial property (currently 70 per cent derated)
• Freight and Transport property (75 per cent derated)

The relevant de-rated percentage of a property valuation is divided by 100 to create a de-rated penny product and is then multiplied by a council’s non-domestic rate to calculate the de-rating grant entitlement. The Department of the Environment then compensates the council for the loss of income arising from the DFP policy.

General Grant

Mr P Weir asked the Minister of the Environment to detail how the resource element of the general grant to local councils is calculated.

(AQW 629/11)

Minister of the Environment: The resources element of the general grant is calculated in accordance with the statutory formula detailed in The Local Government (General Grant) Regulations (Northern Ireland) 2003.

The formula is designed to measure the wealth base against the needs of each council. The Grant is paid only to those councils whose needs exceed their wealth. Wealth is determined by the value of property in the district and needs by an adjusted population. Built into the formula for the adjusted population are factors to address socio-economic disadvantage; the impact of an influx of population into a district; and sparsity. The overall monies available for this element of the General Grant is then shared out in proportion to the need as identified by the formula.

Waste Exemption Certificates

Mr D Kinahan asked the Minister of the Environment whether he will address the anomly that allows sites without planning permission to receive waste exemption certificates.

(AQW 643/11)

Minister of the Environment: Waste Management Licensing Regulations specify a wide range of licensing exemptions. While some of these exemptions specify the requirement to have a relevant planning permission, where this is required, there are a large number which do not specify the need for planning permission.

I accept and support the principle that, where it is required, planning permission should be secured before waste exemption certificates are granted. In this context, the Department has developed a work programme to examine waste management licensing exemptions, and assess the need for change. As individual exemptions are reviewed and amended where necessary, the issue of planning permission is being addressed.

However in instances where planning permission is required but has not been sought or granted, Planning Service already has the option of taking enforcement action to address the position.

Councils Tendered for Banking Services

Mrs D Kelly asked the Minister of the Environment how many councils have tendered for banking services to date; and when did each council last tender for this service.

(AQW 646/11)

Minister of the Environment: The information is not held centrally by my Department but is available from any individual council in which you have an interest.

I expect all councils, when tendering for a banking service or any other service, to seek out the most economically advantageous provider.

Land Disposal

Mrs D Kelly asked the Minister of the Environment what method for land disposal does the Local Government Auditor recommend to local councils; and to list the councils which currently use this method.

(AQW 647/11)

Minister of the Environment: I can advise that the onus is on individual councils to adopt procedures whereby best value for ratepayers is obtained with regard to the disposal of land. If a council is minded to dispose of land at less than best price, or for the best rent or otherwise on the best terms that can reasonably be obtained, the council can approach my Department for approval under section 96(5) of the Local Government Act (NI) 1972.

I am aware that Land & Property Services has produced guidance in relation to the disposal of land and my department has recommended this to councils in drawing up their own procedures.

NI Water: Sewage Pollution

Miss M McIlveen asked the Minister of the Environment to detail (i) the number of incidents of sewage pollution attributable to NI Water which have occurred in rivers and watercourses in the Strangford constituency, in each of the last three years; and (ii) the cost of these incidents.

(AQW 735/11)

Minister of the Environment: The Northern Ireland Environment Agency (NIEA) is responsible for investigating reports of pollution affecting ground or surface waters and for initiating enforcement action, where appropriate, under the terms of the Water (Northern Ireland) Order 1999.

Table A indicates the number of incidents of sewage pollution attributable to Northern Ireland Water (NIW) which have occurred in rivers and watercourses in the Strangford constituency in each of the last three years.

Table A

Year	Total Number
2007	50
2008	23
2009	39
Total	112

Table B indicates the estimated investigation cost of sewage pollution incidents attributable to NIW in each of the last three years.

Table B

Year	No Incidents	Cost of incidents per year
2007	50	£ 5544
2008	23	£ 2550
2009	39	£ 4324
Total	112	£ 12,418

Houses in Multiple Occupation

Dr A McDonnell asked the Minister of the Environment, in relation to houses in multiple occupation in each electoral ward, to detail (i) the current total number; (ii) the percentage; (iii) the cap implemented; (iv) how her Department decided the individual percentage limits; (v) the procedure followed for consultation with the local community; and (vi) what communities were consulted.

(AQW 737/11)

Minister of the Environment: I would refer Dr McDonnell to a similar question that he asked in May last year in respect of the HMO Subject Plan for Belfast. The reply to this question addresses the first 4 points raised by Dr McDonnell (see response to AQW 7400/09). I will now deal with the two additional points that have been raised relating to consultation procedure and information on which communities were consulted.

The preparation of the Houses in Multiple Occupation (HMO) Subject Plan for Belfast was undertaken following the statutory process for development plans, including all consultation requirements.

The Plan was initiated in August 2005 when Planning Service published an Issues Paper as part of the consultation process. This was followed by an extensive public consultation exercise to engage the community and gain feedback on issues relating to HMOs including those identified in the HMO Issues Paper. During the consultation period Planning Service met with a wide range of agencies and parties. Public Consultation included meetings with local residents groups, focus groups, stakeholder meetings (students, local businesses, elected representatives) a meeting with the local Partnership Boards and telephone interviewing. Article 75 Groups were also contacted. Consultation was completed in December 2005.

The Draft HMO Subject Plan was published on 27 June 2006. This was followed by an 8-week Public Consultation Period during which the Department invited representations from all interested parties. The Department then requested the Planning Appeals Commission (PAC) to convene an Independent Examination of representations made in respect of the HMO Subject Plan. The PAC undertook the Independent Examination under Article 7 of the Planning (NI) Order 1991 (amended by The Planning Reform (NI) Order 2006) in October 2007. Their Report was received by the Department in March 2008 and the Subject Plan was adopted later that year.

During the consultation process Planning Service engaged with groups from the Holyland, Rugby Avenue, Stranmillis, Ballynafeigh, Clliftonville/ Antrim Road, West Belfast, Cavehill and Lisburn Road. Planning Service continues to meet with a range of community groups and periodically attends Partners and Communities Together (PACT) meetings.

Planning Service also continues to play an active role in the Inter Agency Group, the Stakeholders Forum established by the Minister of the Department for Education and Learning and the current joint Research Project which is considering long term strategic issues in respect of Student Housing.

Planning Appeals Commission

Mr R Beggs asked the Minister of the Environment how many major planning applications are awaiting referral to the Planning Appeals Commission and the reason for the delay in referral.

(AQW 748/11)

Minister of the Environment: The Planning Service has referred a number of major planning applications to the Planning Appeals Commission (PAC) with a request that they hold public local inquiries. In addition, the PAC has received requests from individual applicants to conduct a hearing into Notices of Opinion that the Department has issued, under the Article 31 procedures.

A list of the current cases referred to the PAC is attached and lists the priority order that the Department considers should be afforded to the individual cases.

The final decision on the scheduling of the inquiry or hearing and the timescale for reporting back to the Minister is a matter for the PAC.

Planning Appeals Commission

Mr R Beggs asked the Minister of the Environment to detail (i) how many major planning applications have been referred to the Planning Appeals Commission in each of the last two years; (ii) the date each application was referred and (iii) the current schedule for reporting back to the Minister in each case.

(AQW 749/11)

Minister of the Environment: The Planning Service has referred a number of major planning applications to the Planning Appeals Commission (PAC) with a request that they hold public local inquiries. In addition, the PAC has received requests from individual applicants to conduct a hearing into Notices of Opinion that the Department has issued, under the Article 31 procedures.

A list of the current cases referred to the PAC is attached and lists the priority order that the Department considers should be afforded to the individual cases.

The final decision on the scheduling of the inquiry or hearing and the timescale for reporting back to the Minister is a matter for the PAC.

Driver and Vehicle Licensing Agency

Ms D Purvis asked the Minister of the Environment (i) how many times the Driver and Vehicle Licensing Agency has passed on personal driver information to car parking companies or private security firms operating as, or on behalf of, car parking companies, in each of the last two years (ii) what checks his Department has in place to ensure that this information is treated confidentially and held securely; and (iii) the reason for passing on this information.

(AQW 810/11)

Minister of the Environment: Vehicle licensing is an excepted matter which is the responsibility of the Secretary of State for Transport. It is administered in Northern Ireland by the Driver & Vehicle Agency (DVA) under a formal agreement between the Department of the Environment and the Department for Transport.

438 vehicle keeper details were released in the period April 2008 to March 2009 and 1765 vehicle keeper details in the period April 2009 to March 2010.

Since November 2009, all car parking companies have been required to obtain membership of an accredited trade association (ATA) before they are able to obtain DVA data. The only ATA for the parking industry at present is the British Parking Association (BPA), and all car parking companies are required to obtain membership of their approved operator scheme (AOS) and adhere to an enforceable code of practice (CoP). The CoP is strictly monitored by the ATA, as this is a condition of their accreditation. If they fail to police their code they could lose their accreditation and their members would lose their ability to request DVA data. Equally, members who do not comply with the code would lose their membership and be unable to submit requests. DVA has the right to carry out ad hoc audits on companies to ensure all requests are appropriate and that data provided is stored and used as agreed. If such audits showed that the data was being used for a purpose other than that for which it was requested, the Information Commissioner would be asked to investigate.

In all cases, the reason for release of keeper information was the alleged non payment of car parking charges. The relevant legislation permitting the release of information from the vehicles register is regulation 27 (1) (e) of the Road Vehicles (Registration and Licensing) Regulations 2002, which states "(1) The Secretary of State may make any particulars contained in the register available for use - … (e) by any person who can show to the satisfaction of the Secretary of State that he has reasonable cause for wanting the particulars to be made available to him". Information is released to private car parking companies under this "reasonable cause" provision.

Driver and Vehicle Agency

Lord Browne asked the Minister of the Environment to detail the number of applications made to the Driver and Vehicle Agency for vehicle keeper information using (i) the V888/2 (NI) form; (ii) the V888/3 (NI) form; and (iii) the electronic access facility, since their introduction.

(AQW 822/11)

Minister of the Environment: Vehicle licensing is an excepted matter which is the responsibility of the Secretary of State for Transport. It is administered in Northern Ireland by the Driver & Vehicle Agency under a formal agreement between the Department of the Environment and the Department for Transport.

The V888 range of forms has been used since 2006 by members of the public and companies to make fee paying enquiries against the vehicle record. Since then 20,465 requests have been received on the V888/2 form, which is used by companies including insurance companies, finance companies and solicitors to request details from the vehicle record for a variety of reasons, and 2,203 requests on the V888/3 form, which is used by companies and landowners who require vehicle keeper information specifically in relation to penalty charge notices for alleged parking infractions.

Unlike DVLA, DVA do not provide a fee paying electronic access facility for such enquiries.

Air Pollution Incident in Glenavy

Mr T Burns asked the Minister of the Environment, in relation to the air pollution incident in the vicinity of Ulster Farm By-Products premises in Glenavy on 1 October 2010, (i) what investigations his departmental officials have initiated into the cause of this incident; (ii) to detail any findings as a result of these investigations; and (iii) to make a statement on this matter.

(AQW 970/11)

Minister of the Environment: (i) NIEA received a number of reports of a highly visible plume coming from the Ulster Farm By-Products plant on 1 October, one of which reported ‘black smoke’ coming from the plant stacks. NIEA staff visited the site in the morning and late in the evening of 1 October, when a steamy plume was observed coming from one stack, consistent with cooker gas by-passing the plant condensers. NIEA accepts that this mode of operation may be necessary in exceptional circumstances and was notified by the company on this occasion.

(ii)&(iii) NIEA is investigating the events leading up to the incident and as agreed in recent discussions with my officials, a report will be forwarded to you on completion of this investigation.

Plastic Bags

Mr S Hamilton asked the Minister of the Environment for his assessment of the reduction in the number of single use plastic bags issued between 2008/09 and 2009/10.

(AQO 216/11)

Minister of the Environment: I am pleased to report that in Northern Ireland we achieved a reduction of 9.3% in the number of single use carrier bags issued by the major supermarkets between 2008/09 and 2009/10. This equates to 19 million less bags issued.

However, we cannot be complacent and must continue our efforts to persuade people to "Get into the habit" of taking their own bags when shopping.

Climate Change Bill

Dr S Farry asked the Minister of the Environment what consideration he has given to a Climate Change Bill for Northern Ireland.

(AQO 217/11)

Minister of the Environment: I continue to consider the matter of a Climate Change Bill for Northern Ireland. The UK Climate Change Act 2008 extends to Northern Ireland and given the uncertainty levels associated with the current method of calculating greenhouse gas emissions I am not fully convinced of the need for a separate Northern Ireland Climate Change Bill at this time.

The Northern Ireland Executive has a target to reduce greenhouse gas emissions by 25% below 1990 levels by 2025. In August 2010 I chaired the first meeting of the Executive’s Cross-Departmental Working Group on Greenhouse Gas Emissions. This group is primarily tasked with developing an action plan by December 2010 setting out the strategic approach and actions to be taken across Departments to meet the Programme for Government target.

Slurry

Mr W Irwin asked the Minister of the Environment, given the recent significant rainfall and the problems this presented for spreading slurry, if he would consider extending the open period if ground conditions do not improve in the near future.

(AQO 218/11)

Minister of the Environment: There is no facility within the legislation to change the dates of the closed period for spreading manures.

Planning Service Staff

Mr P J Bradley asked the Minister of the Environment whether the redeployment of staff from the Planning Service was carried out on the basis of a selection scheme which assessed the experience, qualifications, length of service, performance, attendance and the needs of the individual.

(AQO 219/11)

Minister of the Environment: The Department sought volunteers for redeployment. However, as insufficient volunteers were identified, it was necessary to proceed with a random selection process. Random selection for redeployment removes any possibility - subconscious or otherwise - of personal bias. It is open, fair and transparent.

Planning Policy Statement 4

Mr A Easton asked the Minister of the Environment for an update on PPS 4.

(AQO 220/11)

Minister of the Environment: A revised and updated PPS 4 was originally submitted to the Executive in December 2008. As PPS 4 has not appeared on the agenda for an Executive meeting, it was recommended again to Executive colleagues in November 2009, December 2009 and August 2010.

I will publish PPS 4 once it is agreed by the Executive.

Strategic Leadership Board

Mr G Savage asked the Minister of the Environment for an update on the recent work of the Strategic Leadership Board.

(AQO 222/11)

Minister of the Environment: The Strategic Leadership Board, which I chair, last met on 14 April 2010 to consider issues relevant to the local government reform programme. However, following the Executive’s decision of 14 June 2010 that it would not be possible to create a new 11 council structure in May 2011, I agreed with the Board that we should defer future meetings until the Executive considered fresh proposals on a delivery timetable.

In spite of this, the Board and I were very keen to maintain the momentum that has been created and since April I have had a number of meetings with representatives from the local government sector. These have been to consider how councils might collaborate to achieve significant efficiencies and create savings so that ratepayers will see real value for money being delivered by their councils.

I am impressed with the work that the sector has taken forward so far and I have agreed to meet again, before the end of the year, to consider its detailed plans and recommendations for greater collaboration.

These meetings, which have involved members of the Strategic Leadership Board, have presented the opportunity for discussion on wider reform issues including options for reframing the local government reform delivery timetable.

Motorcycling

Miss M McIlveen asked the Minister of the Environment what co-operation his Department has had with the motorcycle community in promoting responsible motorcycling to reduce casualties and to ensure that other vehicle drivers are aware of motorcyclists.

(AQO 223/11)

Minister of the Environment: Road Safety is one of my highest priorities and I have been working to ensure that positive engagement with the motorcycle community takes place at every possible level.

My Department recently commissioned detailed research into the causes and influencing factors of motorcycle casualties in Northern Ireland. Good contacts were established with the most active biking clubs, as well as members of Northern Ireland biking forums. Input from the motorcycling community was central to developing this research, which will help shape the Department’s road safety strategy for the next decade.

The recent consultation on the Department’s proposed road safety strategy included a number of proposals to protect motorcyclists, including the establishment of a ‘Motorcycle Forum’ to strengthen links between the motorcycling community and government. The final draft strategy is currently being prepared, taking into consideration the feedback to the consultation.

DEPARTMENT OF FINANCE AND PERSONNEL

External Consultants

Mr P McGlone asked the Minister of Finance and Personnel how much has been spent on external consultants in each of the last 5 years by (i) the Department; (ii) Central Procurement Directorate Construction; and (iii) Central Procurement Directorate Supplies and Service Division; and (iv) to provide a breakdown showing how much was paid to (a) PWC; (b) Deloitte; and (c) Ernst & Young.

(AQW 38/11)

Minister of Finance and Personnel (Mr S Wilson): Expenditure on external consultants in each of the last 5 years by (i) the Department of Finance and Personnel; (ii) Central Procurement Directorate Construction Divisions; and (iii) Central Procurement Directorate Supplies and Service Division; and (iv) a breakdown showing how much was paid to (a) PWC; (b) Deloitte; and (c) Ernst & Young is provided in the attached table.

	(i)				(ii)				(iii)
Year	Department of Finance and Personnel (£m)				Central Procurement Directorate Construction Divisions (£m)				Central Procurement Directorate Supplies and Services Division (£m)
	Total	PWC	Deloitte	Ernst & Young	Total	PWC	Deloitte	Ernst & Young	Total	PWC	Deloitte	Ernst & Young
05/06	2.6	*	*	*	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-
06/07	4.4	*	*	*	0.01	-	-	-	-	-	-	-
07/08	**6.3	2.9	2.5	-	0.03	-	-	-	-	-	-	-
08/09	***4.5	2.7	0.6	-	-	-	-	-	0.01	-	-	-
09/10	#1.1	0.9	0.01	-	0.02	-	-	-	-	-	-	-

* Prior to 2007/08 the department is unable to extract this information without conducting an extensive manual exercise which would only be obtained at disproportionate cost.

** For comparative purposes this figure has been restated to exclude external consultancy expenditure by the Special EU Programmes Body (SEUPB). The previously reported position inclusive of SEUPB was £6.6m.

*** This represents the final expenditure position following the completion of test drilling and review work. The previously reported provisional position was £4.9m.

# This figure is provisional subject to completion of test drilling and review work.

Civil Service Posts

Mr P McGlone asked the Minister of Finance and Personnel to detail the number of posts, within the NI Civil Service, currently filled by deputising arrangements or temporary promotion, for the grades (i) Administrative Assistant to Deputy Principal (and equivalent); and (ii) Grade 7 & above.

(AQW 345/11)

Minister of Finance and Personnel: The number of employees on temporary promotion within the Northern Ireland Civil Service at 1 September 2010 broken down by Department and the analogous grade into which they are temporarily promoted is detailed in the attached table.

	Analogous Grade
Dept Group	Administrative Officer	Executive Officer 2	Executive Officer 1	Staff Officer	Deputy Principal	Grade 7	Grade 6	Senior Civil Servant	Industrial	Community Services Manager	Total
DARD	22	14	9	15	11	4	1	3	5		84
DCAL		1		1	2	1					5
DE	10	6	6	2	9	1					34
DEL	39	31	19	14	9	6					118
DETI	6	3	1	2	2	1					15
DFP	11	22	15	17	26	14	11	6			122
DHSSPS	1	2	1	4	3	5	1	3			20
DOE	32	14	7	9	8	2	2		1		75
DOJ	2	16		7	8	5	2			1	41
DRD	13	14	13	15	18	5	3	2	38		121
DSD	55	155	94	54	31	8	2	2			401
OFMDFM	1	2	2	1	2		1	2			11
PPS	14	11		3	1			7			36
Grand Total	206	291	167	144	130	52	23	25	44	1	1083

Deputising is an ad-hoc arrangement where employees are paid a deputising allowance for undertaking duties at a higher grade for a period of less than one month. The number of employees who were paid a deputising allowance on 31 August 2010 broken down by Department and substantive grade is as follows:

Dept Group	Administrative Assistant	Administrative Officer	Executive Officer 2	Executive Officer 1	Staff Officer	Deputy Principal	Grade 7	Industrial	Total
DARD	1	4	2	2	1	1		1	12
DCAL	1							2	3
DEL	2	6	1	2					11
DFP	1	2	1		1				5
DHSSPS	1	1	1						3
DOE	3	39	1	2	1				46
DOJ*	3	3							6
DRD	2	2						7	11
DSD	31	112	64	55	27	9	3		301
Grand Total	45	169	70	61	30	10	3	10	398

* Includes NI Prison Service staff, NI Courts Service staff and Youth Justice Agency non-general service staff

Vacancies in the Civil Service

Mr M Durkan asked the Minister of Finance and Personnel to detail the (i) location; and (ii) number of vacancies in the Northern Ireland Civil Service at (a) Administrative Officer; (b) Executive Officer II; (c) Executive Officer I; and (d) Staff Officer; and (e) Deputy Principal grades, in each Government Department.

(AQW 655/11)

Minister of Finance and Personnel:

The location and number of vacancies in permanent posts in each Northern Ireland Civil Service department at the grades of (a) Administrative Officer; (b) Executive Officer 2; (c) Executive Officer 1; (d) Staff Officer; and (e) Deputy Principal grades, are set out in the attached table.

Vacancies (Full Time Equivalent basis) in each of the NI Departments and their Agencies in Grades:

AO; EO2; EO1; SO; DP, at 24 September 2010

	AO	Location	EOII	Location	EO1	Location	SO	Location	DP	Location
DARD	3	1 Belfast	1	Newry	3.5	2.5 Stormont	4	1 Derry	2	Stormont
		1 Cookstown				1 Ballymena		1 Cookstown
		1 Stormont						1 Stormont
								1 Mallusk
DCAL	2	Belfast	0		0		0		0
DE	2	Derry	0		0		0		0
DEL	6	5 Belfast	11.68	6.68 Belfast	13.24	12.74 Belfast	8	Belfast	6	Belfast
		1 Newry		1 Newry		0.5 Limavady
				1 Ballymena
				1 Banbridge
				1 Ballymoney
				1 Omagh
DETI	0		1	Stormont	0		0		1	Stormont
DFP	5	Belfast	1	Belfast	2	Stormont	2	1 Belfast	0
								1 Bangor
DHSSPS	0		0		0		0		0
DOE	10.8	4.5 Belfast	11	6 Belfast	4	Belfast	6	Belfast	0
		1.5 Downpatrick		4 Coleraine
		1 Armagh		1 Downpatrick
		1 Coleraine
		1 Enniskillen
		1 Omagh
		0.8 Ards
DOJ	8	6 Belfast	0		0		2	Belfast	3	Belfast
		1 Antrim
		1 Maghaberry

Vacancies (Full Time Equivalent basis) in each of the NI Departments and their Agencies in Grades:

AO; EO2; EO1; SO; DP, at 24 September 2010 (Continued)

	AO	Location	EOII	Location	EO1	Location	SO	Location	DP	Location
DRD	1	Omagh	1	Coleraine	3	1 Belfast	1	Belfast	1	Belfast
						1 Downpatrick
						1 Strangford
DSD	14	11 Belfast	8	6 Belfast	2	Belfast	0		0
		1 Newcastle		1 Portadown
		1 Ballynahinch		1 Ards
		1 Ballymena
OFMDFM	1	Stormont	0		0		0		2	Stormont
PPS	1	Lisburn	*6	5 Belfast	*		2	Belfast	0
				1 Derry
TOTAL	53.8		40.68		27.74		25		15

* Grade C currently spans both EO1 and EO2. There is an ongoing grading review of all Grade C/EO posts to establish if they are equivalent to Executive Officer 11 or Executive Officer 1.

Civil Service

Mr M Durkan asked e Minister of Finance and Personnel to outline the number of staff in the Northern Ireland Civil Service who are currently temporarily promoted in each Government Department; and to indicate the length of service involved in these cases.

(AQW 657/11)

Minister of Finance and Personnel: I would refer the Member to the reply I provided to Mr Patsy McGlone in AQW 345/11. Information regarding the length of service is not readily available and could only be obtained at disproportionate cost.

Renewable Energy

Mr P Weir asked the Minister of Finance and Personnel to detail the schemes his Department provides or intends to provide to encourage the use of renewable energy.

(AQW 692/11)

Minister of Finance and Personnel: Policy responsibility on renewable energies is a DETI matter. However there are a number of schemes underway, or policies in development, within my Department that will encourage the use of renewable energy technologies.

My Department, with Executive approval, introduced 2 new domestic rates relief schemes from April this year. One of these, the Low Carbon Homes Scheme, provides rates relief for 2 to 5 years (depending on standard) for first occupiers of low or zero-carbon homes. This scheme is aimed at improving the energy efficiency of Northern Ireland’s housing stock by encouraging the development of low and zero carbon homes.

My Department administers the Central Energy Efficiency Fund, which offers grant assistance of up to 50% of capital costs to public bodies for energy efficiency or renewable energy schemes within their buildings.

From the policy perspective, the Building Regulations set thermal standards for designers and builders that, while not mandating the use of low or zero carbon technologies are intended to be onerous enough to encourage their inclusion. Building regulations will be amended in two phases (in 2011 and again in 2013) to further tighten these standards. It is intended that from 2016 building regulations will move towards low or zero carbon dwellings. Each level of improved thermal standards will result in an even greater likelihood that renewable technologies will be required to meet these standards.

Civil Service Redundancies

Mr J Craig asked the Minister of Finance and Personnel how many people were made redundant from each (i) Civil Service Department; and (ii) Department's agencies and arms-length bodies in each of the last three years; and what were the associated costs of the redundancies for each year.

(AQW 750/11)

Minister of Finance and Personnel: The total number of people and cost to each Department, its agencies and arms-length bodies who were made redundant during financial years 2007-2008, 2008-2009 and 2009-2010 are set out in the table below.

Departmental Expenditure on Redundancies
	07 / 08		08 / 09		09 / 10
Departments	Figures	Costs	Figures	Costs	Figures	Costs
DETI	1
DFP					1
DARD					1
NIPS					1
DCAL –National Museums NI	5	153,013	5	193,204	9	578,451

Departmental Costs include the initial costs for leavers and any ongoing liabilities for the annual compensation payments during the three year period.

No other Departments, agencies or arm-length bodies had redundancies during this period.

Individual costs cannot be provided as this would be in breach of the Data Protection Act.

Civil Service Redundancies

Mr J Craig asked the Minister of Finance and Personnel what are the current Civil Service redundancy payment terms for people (i) under 50 years old; and (ii) 50 years old and above.

(AQW 751/11)

Minister of Finance and Personnel: The details requested are contained in the rules of the Civil Service Compensation Scheme (Northern Ireland) as published on the Civil Service Pensions website at www.civilservicepensions-ni.gov.uk and can be accessed as follows:

Civil Service redundancy payment terms for people under 50 years old - www.civilservicepensions-ni.gov.uk/rules_of_the_cscs_ni_-2.pdf

See rules 2.7 - 2.9a & rules 2A.6 - 2A.7.4

Civil Service redundancy payment terms for people 50 years old and above - www.civilservicepensions-ni.gov.uk/rules_of_the_cscs_ni_-2.pdf

See rules 2.2 - 2.6a & rules 2A.3 - 2A.5.13; Also rules 2.10 & 2A.5a

There are currently no formal compensation arrangements for members of the ‘nuvos’ pension arrangement for new entrants to the civil service from 30 July 2007. Until these terms are put in place permanent staff who are members of nuvos and who leave on redundancy will receive an ex-gratia payment of 1 months earnings for each year of nuvos service.

Compensation arrangements for civil servants in Northern Ireland generally mirror those that are put in place for the home civil service and which are now under review. I would also refer to the reply I gave my hon. Friend the member for East Belfast on 24 September 2010 (AQO 84/11).

Contracts Awarded by the Central Procurement Directorate

Mr G Savage asked the Minister of Finance and Personnel to list (i) the contracts awarded by the Central Procurement Directorate in each of the last three years and the companies to which they were awarded, including whether or not the successful companies were Northern Ireland based; and (ii) the companies who tendered for the contracts but were unsuccessful, including whether or not the unsuccessful companies were Northern Ireland based.

(AQW 755/11)

Minister of Finance and Personnel: The information requested in part (i) and part (ii) of the question has been placed in the library.

Information on contracts awarded prior to May 2008 could be obtained only in part and at disproportionate cost.

Surplus Land

Dr A McDonnell asked the Minister of Finance and Personnel to detail any (i) land; and (ii) property owned by his Department which is currently deemed surplus to requirements, including the location of the land or property and any plans for its disposal.

(AQW 775/11)

Minister of Finance and Personnel: The following owned land and property in DFP is currently surplus.

Name of land or property	Postal address	Post Code	Plans for disposal
Gola Road	314 Gola Road, Attybarron, Lisnaskea	BT92 0FE	Sale agreed on open market, contracts being exchanged.
Andersonstown SSO	35-37 Slieveban Drive, Andersonstown	BT11 8HL	With LPS for disposal. A number of public sector organisations have expressed an interest in acquiring.

Rates Arrears

Mr S Hamilton asked the Minister of Finance and Personnel to detail the amount owed in rates arrears in each local council district.

(AQW 829/11)

Minister of Finance and Personnel: At any point in time, the total amount of ratepayer debt comprises two elements: the previous years’ ratepayer debt; and in-year debt. At 26 September 2010, the previous years’ ratepayer debt of £157 million at 31 March 2010 had been reduced to £113 million. The break down between district council areas is given in Table 1.

It is difficult to quantify in-year ratepayer debt given that, as part of normal business, bills are issued and paid on a daily basis.

Table 1 – Previous Years’ Ratepayer Debt at 26 September 2010 by District Council area

District Council	Previous Years' Debt
Antrim	£2,598,803
Ards	£4,145,216
Armagh	£3,434,166
Ballymena	£2,092,514
Ballymoney	£953,874
Banbridge	£2,223,290
Belfast	£36,955,241
Carrickfergus	£2,014,820
Castlereagh	£3,047,595
Coleraine	£2,492,391
Cookstown	£963,993
Craigavon	£5,926,004
Derry	£6,808,723
Down	£3,786,376
Dungannon & South Tyrone	£2,093,605
Fermanagh	£2,275,381
Larne	£1,184,322
Limavady	£1,429,007
Lisburn	£7,688,820
Magherafelt	£1,133,304
Moyle	£577,244
Newry & Mourne	£6,249,764
Newtownabbey	£4,776,712
North Down	£4,665,614
Omagh	£1,756,396
Strabane	£1,510,064
Total	£112,783,239

The collection of all rates due remains a very high priority for Land & Property Services, and rigorous pursuit of outstanding debt continues.

Temporary Promotions Within the NI Civil Service

Mr P McGlone asked the Minister of Finance and Personnel, pursuant to AQW 348/11, to detail, for each of the last three years, the (i) temporary promotions; and (ii) deputising arrangements in the Civil Service, broken down by (a) substantive grade and promoted grade; (b) length of promotion arrangement; and (c) annual salary increase.

(AQW 845/11)

Minister of Finance and Personnel: Information regarding individual temporary promotions and deputising arrangements for each of the last three years is not readily available and could only be obtained at disproportionate cost.

Temporary Promotions Within the NI Civil Service

Mr P McGlone asked the Minister of Finance and Personnel, pursuant to AQW 348/11, whether an Equality Impact Assessment has been carried out on the Civil Service policy on temporary promotions and deputising arrangements, in the last three years.

(AQW 846/11)

Minister of Finance and Personnel: No Equality Impact Assessment has been carried out on the Civil Service policy on temporary promotions and deputising arrangements in the last three years.

Civil Service Policy on Temporary Promotions and Deputising Arrangements

Mr P McGlone asked the Minister of Finance and Personnel (i) to provide the original Civil Service policy on temporary promotions and deputising arrangements; and (ii) any revised versions in the last three years.

(AQW 848/11)

Minister of Finance and Personnel: The original policy on temporary promotions and deputising is provided overleaf (Section 2286 of the Northern Ireland Civil Service Pay and Conditions Code). The amalgamation of the NICS Code and associated civil service circulars began in 1998 and these were incorporated into the NICS HR Handbook in early 2007, and now available to staff on the HRConnect portal. There has been no revision of the policy in the last 3 years.

NICS Pay and Conditions code

Section 2286 Temporary Promotion

Officers may be temporarily promoted if they take on the full range of duties of a post in a higher grade, otherwise than by substantive promotion or in substitution for an absent officer. Part-time staff who regularly work 15 hours or more per week, are eligible for consideration for temporary promotion or substitution. However, staff will be required to work the hours of the post into which they are temporarily promoted or substituted.

Temporary promotion will not be used where it is possible to make a substantive promotion. A temporary promotion is one authorised: -

1. To fill a post which is created as a temporary measure for a special project;
2. To meet short-term fluctuations in the level and/or volume of work at particular times;
3. To cover a vacancy for a short period pending the filling of the post by normal means; the period should not exceed 3 months;
4. To cover the absence of the post-holder on maternity leave, whether or not she had indicated an intention to return within 3 months;
5. Exceptionally, when it is known that a post-holder will be absent for more than 3 months and someone in a lower grade takes on the full duties of the post.

A temporary promotion will not normally be authorised for a period exceeding one year.

A continuous period of substitution will be converted to temporary promotion once the substitute has completed 3 months’ continuous service in the higher grade. If it is clear from the outset that the substitute will be required to act for more than 3 months, temporary promotion must be granted from the outset.

The granting of temporary promotion is at the discretion of the Establishment Officer who should be satisfied that a vacant post exists at the higher level grade and that the person to be temporarily promoted will carry out the full range of duties of the higher grade.

Temporary promotion will normally be to the next higher grade, but in exceptional circumstances someone may be temporarily promoted to a grade above this.

Full details of any substitution/temporary promotion involving a move of 2 or more grades must be submitted to Personnel Services Branch, DFP, for approval in advance and before any commitment is given to the individual.

Temporary promotion does not confer any rights to substantive promotion. When an officer returns to the former grade after a period of temporary promotion, that period does not count towards seniority at the higher grade.

For all purposes other than seniority, temporary promotion will be treated as substantive promotion.

City of Culture 2013 in Derry

Mr R McCartney asked the Minister of Finance and Personnel whether he has identified any funding from his Department's budget to be allocated to the City of Culture 2013 in Derry; and if so, how much and for what specific purpose, projects or programmes in the City of Culture is this money intended.

(AQW 859/11)

Minister of Finance and Personnel: My department has not identified any funding from its budget to be allocated to the City of Culture 2013 in Londonderry.

Northern Ireland Block Grant

Mr C Lyttle asked the Minister of Finance and Personnel for his assessment of the anticipated impact of the forthcoming UK Comprehensive Spending Review on the Northern Ireland Block Grant.

(AQO 184/11)

Minister of Finance and Personnel: The 20 October Spending Review announcement by the Chancellor will have significant implications for Northern Ireland. The Executive, through the Barnett Formula, receives over 90 per cent of its resources from such Spending Reviews.

Therefore the anticipated budget reductions announced by the Chancellor will have an enormous impact on the Northern Ireland Block.

Banking: Businesses

Mr F McCann asked the Minister of Finance and Personnel whether he has had any discussions with the four main banks about the concerns expressed by the four main Churches regarding business banking practices.

(AQO 185/11)

Minister of Finance and Personnel: I publicly responded to the Churches joint statement on the day of its release (17^th June 2010), and my officials met with the four main banks in the days immediately afterwards in the context of the Executive’s Cross Sector Advisory Forum work on bank lending to discuss the level of information on bank lending practices here and the concerns raised.

The availability of finance is vital for economic recovery and remains, strategically, a very important issue. Despite banking being a reserved matter, I will continue to do all that I can to help address the issues raised once again by the Churches. I have written to both George Osbourne and Vince Cable on financing private sector growth and to ask that the Independent Commission they have established to look at this issue considers the distinctive nature of our banking sector locally. As two of our banks are Irish owned, I have had ongoing discussions with the Irish Finance Minister and I am scheduled to meet him again in November.

I am also seeking to improve the level of information available on banking lending to SMEs in Northern Ireland and have recently agreed an approach to this with the British Bankers Association.

Public Expenditure

Mr J Bell asked the Minister of Finance and Personnel to outline why Northern Ireland receives a higher level of funding per head of population than other parts of the UK.

(AQO 186/11)

Minister of Finance and Personnel: Northern Ireland has, for many years, had higher per capita public expenditure than other UK regions. The primary reason relates back to the establishment of the Barnett Formula in 1979 and its subsequent application to the UK regions. This resulted in allocations, which, to some degree, made allowances for perceived additional need.

The public expenditure allocations ever since have been adding to this relatively high starting position. There has been considerable protection for the higher spend over the years because much of the growth in UK

public expenditure has been in areas such as health and education – areas where we have what is known as ‘full comparability’.

NI Water: Costs

Rev Dr R Coulter asked the Minister of Finance and Personnel what are the estimated cost implications to the Executive of the Minister for Regional Development's proposal to bring NI Water back into public ownership.

(AQO 187/11)

Minister of Finance and Personnel: Firstly, I must point out that NI Water has never left public ownership. It is a GOCo - Government Owned Company.

I presume the question relates to the DRD Minister’s announced intention to remove the GOCo status and bring NI Water under more direct DRD control. There are a number of classification and accounting issues that would need to be reassessed by DRD if NI Water was to cease being a GOCo and became either an NDPB or Government Agency. We will need to wait until the DRD Minister puts forward detailed proposals before we can properly assess the cost of changing the status of NI Water.

NI Water: Costs

Mr A Bresland asked the Minister of Finance and Personnel for his assessment of the potential budgetary implications of removing NI Water's status as a Government Company.

(AQO 188/11)

Minister of Finance and Personnel: If NI Water is formally reclassified from a GOCo to a NDPB or Government Agency the two major accounting issues of asset valuation and VAT will need to be addressed and both of these have potentially serious budgetary implications for the Executive. NI Water’s assets would need to be revalued and it is likely that this would result in a much larger figure than the present valuation figure of £1 billion. This would result in a significant increase in depreciation costs which would have to be met by the Executive. Also, NI Water would become liable for VAT payments.

The precise implications of changing the status of NI Water depend on the proposals brought forward by the Regional Development Minister but

it is possible that the total cost for the Executive of reclassification could be as much as £200 million per annum.

Budget 2011-15

Mr T Lunn asked the Minister of Finance and Personnel how he will ensure that the 2011-2015 Budget will reflect the priorities of a new Programme for Government.

(AQO 189/11)

Minister of Finance and Personnel: At present the Budget 2010 work is running in parallel with the development of a new Programme for Government. I am aware of the emerging themes within that work and I am confident that the Executive’s draft budget will be consistent with the vision of the new Programme for Government.

Employment

Mr S Gardiner asked the Minister of Finance and Personnel whether he has sought to identify and prioritise departmental programmes which create and protect jobs, particularly in the construction sector; and to outline any major examples.

(AQO 190/11)

Minister of Finance and Personnel: The Executive's Priority Measures to Deal with the Economic Downturn includes actions identified by departments, working with wider stakeholders, to mitigate the effects of the downturn. These include measures to support businesses in retaining employment, and actions in relation to infrastructure and procurement, some of which specifically relate to the construction and small business sectors.

In terms of Budget 2010 it will ultimately be for individual Ministers to prioritise their departmental programmes for funding in the budget process. This will require some tough choices and we will need to consider all options open to us. I have recently completed a series of budget bi-lateral meetings with Executive colleagues to take their mind on our collective priorities and pressures.

My own view is that growing our economy must be the number one priority if we are to improve living standards locally, and I believe future spending allocations must reflect this priority in the Budget.

Government: Audit

Ms C Ní Chuilín asked the Minister of Finance and Personnel for his assessment of whether proper audit procedures are met when Ministers make unfunded commitments.

(AQO 191/11)

Minister of Finance and Personnel: Departments must operate within delegated limits and in accordance with DFP guidance including Managing Public Money Northern Ireland and the Northern Ireland Guide to Expenditure Appraisal and Evaluation. When DFP examines proposals outside delegated limits it provides approval only to the project in principle, making no commitments on funding. Routine test-drilling by DFP monitors spend below delegated limits. All commitments made by Ministers must be in accordance with the requirements of this guidance. Ministers who make unfunded commitments, do so at the risk of their Department's other spending priorities as there can be no guarantee that the necessary

funding will subsequently be provided at a future monitoring round or budget process.

Utilities

Mr P Weir asked the Minister of Finance and Personnel for his assessment of how the Executive's ownership of utility service organisations could impact on the growth of the private sector.

(AQO 192/11)

Minister of Finance and Personnel: Two of Northern Ireland’s utility service functions - energy and telecoms - have been in the private sector for some time now and have been able to access the resources they need for investment and growth and to allow them to operate in what are now increasingly competitive but well regulated markets. This has also benefited consumers. It is unthinkable that these services would come back under the control of the Executive and to do so would significantly reduce the size of our local private sector. NI Water is a GoCo and has never left public ownership but many of the same principles would apply to any suggestion to bring it back under more direct departmental control.

Banking: Businesses

Mr M Durkan asked the Minister of Finance and Personnel to outline what representations he will make to the banks, in light of the Church Leaders' view that banks have shown a lack of integrity in their dealings with longstanding business customers.

(AQO 193/11)

Minister of Finance and Personnel: I publicly responded to the Churches joint statement on the day of its release (17^th June 2010), and my officials met with the four main banks in the days immediately afterwards in the context of the Executive’s Cross Sector Advisory Forum work on bank lending to discuss the level of information on bank lending practices here and the concerns raised.

The availability of finance is vital for economic recovery and remains, strategically, a very important issue. Despite banking being a reserved matter, I will continue to do all that I can to help address the issues raised once again by the Churches. I have written to both George Osbourne and Vince Cable on financing private sector growth and to ask that the Independent Commission they have established to look at this issue considers the distinctive nature of our banking sector locally. As two of our banks are Irish owned, I have had ongoing discussions with the Irish Finance Minister and I am scheduled to meet him again in November.

I am also seeking to improve the level of information available on banking lending to SMEs in Northern Ireland and have recently agreed an approach to this with the British Bankers Association.

DEPARTMENT OF HEALTH, SOCIAL SERVICES AND PUBLIC SAFETY

Soya Milk

Mr G Savage asked the Minister of Health, Social Services and Public Safety to define the status and legality of the sale of 'soya milk'.

(AQW 418/11)

Minister of Health, Social Services and Public Safety (Mr M McGimpsey): The name "Soya milk" is not permitted under the Spreadable Fats (Marketing Standards) and the Milk and Milk Products (Protection of Designations) Regulations (NI) 2008 (SR No.239), which implement "Community Provisions" controlling designations for milk and milk products.

Foodstuffs intended for human consumption may be marketed as milk and milk products only if they comply with the definitions and designations laid down in Annex XII.of EC Regulation (EC) No.1234/2007.

The EC Regulation defines ‘milk’ as the normal mammary secretion obtained from one or more milkings without any additions or extractions.

The term ‘milk’ and the designations used for ‘milk products’ may be used in association with a word or words to designate composite products.

There are derogations for some products using dairy designations for example; for products which are clearly not dairy but have traditionally used terms associated with milk; for products which do not compete with milk and milk products and products where the dairy designation is clearly used to describe a characteristic quality of the food. These have been documented in guidance issued by the Food Standards Agency. Coconut milk is an example of one such derogation, however, "soya milk" does not qualify for such a derogation because it competes directly with cows’ milk.

Failure to comply with the Community provisions implemented by these regulations is an offence and any person who contravenes or fails to comply with them is liable on summary conviction to a fine not exceeding level 5 of the standard scale.

Capital Projects in the North Down Area

Mr P Weir asked e Minister of Health, Social Services and Public Safety for an update on all his Department's capital projects in the North Down area that (i) were commenced or completed in 2010/11; (ii) are planned for 2011/12; and (iii) have been postponed because of budgetary constraints.

(AQW 426/11)

Minister of Health, Social Services and Public Safety: There were no capital developments which either commenced or completed in the North Down constituency area in 2010/11.

Only once the level of resources available for the next Budget period has been confirmed will I be able to look at all of my priorities and be certain of the availability of funding, both to build and operate facilities, before being able to confirm which projects will proceed.

Radiotherapy Services at Altnagelvin Hospital

Mr J McCallister asked the Minister of Health, Social Services and Public Safety when a decision will be made on the business case for radiotherapy services at Altnagelvin Hospital.

(AQW 444/11)

Minister of Health, Social Services and Public Safety: A final decision on the business case for this project can only be made once I have clarity on affordability. This is true of all capital infrastructure projects. My Department is facing huge financial pressures in relation to both my capital and revenue budgets. Only when the outcome of Budget 2010 is known, will it be possible to make a decision on this project.

Satellite Radiotherapy Centre at Altnagelvin Hospital

Mr J McCallister asked the Minister of Health, Social Services and Public Safety to outline the timescale for the development of the satellite radiotherapy centre at Altnagelvin Hospital; and to outline any proposed changes to the centre since it was first announced in 2008.

(AQW 446/11)

Minister of Health, Social Services and Public Safety: The timescale for the completion of the project cannot be confirmed until the business case has been approved and funding confirmed following the outcome of Budget 2010.

The nature and extent of services being provided has remained unchanged since my announcement of 2008 and will be provided as an integral part of the Northern Ireland cancer service.

Satellite Radiotherapy Centre at Altnagelvin Hospital

Mr J McCallister asked the Minister of Health, Social Services and Public Safety for a description of a satellite radiotherapy service; and for his assessment of the impact that a new satellite radiotherapy centre would have on patient services at Altnagelvin Hospital.

(AQW 448/11)

Minister of Health, Social Services and Public Safety: The new satellite radiotherapy service will provide radiotherapy services, coupled with an increase in chemotherapy services. Radiotherapy services will be delivered from three linear accelerators for patients in the northwest of Northern Ireland and for patients from the Republic of Ireland.

Patients will benefit from having their treatment delivered in one centre. This will ensure that the majority of patients from the northwest will have the opportunity to receive their radiotherapy treatment in conjunction with their chemotherapy treatment in one location comparatively close to where they reside.

Satellite Radiotherapy Centre at Altnagelvin Hospital

Mr J McCallister asked the Minister of Health, Social Services and Public Safety if the satellite radiotherapy centre at Altnagelvin Hospital will have the capacity to provide a service for all patients in the North West with common cancers to prevent patients from having to travel to Belfast for treatment.

(AQW 449/11)

Minister of Health, Social Services and Public Safety: The business case for the Altnagelvin Satellite Radiotherapy Unit proposes that the unit will have the capacity to treat all patients with common cancers from the Western Trust area, the northern sector of the Northern Trust area, and patients from Donegal in the Republic of Ireland. Those patients with more complex cancers (approximately 10% of the catchment population) will continue to receive treatment at the Cancer Centre in Belfast or in the case of Republic of Ireland patients, at national treatment centres in the Republic.

Satellite Radiotherapy Centre at Altnagelvin Hospital

Mr J McCallister asked the Minister of Health, Social Services and Public Safety if the satellite radiotherapy centre at Altnagelvin Hospital will be offering a full-time service.

(AQW 450/11)

Minister of Health, Social Services and Public Safety: The business case for the Altnagelvin Satellite Radiotherapy Unit proposes that radiotherapy services will be offered on a full-time basis i.e. Monday to Friday, 8.5 hours per day.

Causeway Hospital Accident and Emergency Unit

Mr G Robinson asked the Minister of Health, Social Services and Public Safety to outline the current recommended staff complement of (i) consultants; (ii) medical; and (iii) nursing staff for the Causeway Hospital Accident and Emergency Unit; and whether this complement is currently being met.

(AQW 453/11)

Minister of Health, Social Services and Public Safety: The current staffing complement at the Causeway Hospital Accident and Emergency Department is provided in the table below.

Staff Compliment - Causeway Hospital Accident & Emergency department
	Causeway Hospital
	Recommended	In post
Consultants	3	3
Associate Specialist	1	1
Specialty Doctor (newly established post)	1	1
Trainee doctors	7	7
Band 7 nurse	1	1
Band 6 nurse	7.15wte*	6.56wte
Band 5 nurse	22.71wte	22.69wte
Band 3 nurse	1.84wte	1.72wte
Band 2 nurse	2.1wte	1.84wte

Source: Northern Health & Social Care Trust

wte - Whole Time Equivalent

Time-line for fitting Hearing Aids

Ms M Ritchie asked the Minister of Health, Social Services and Public Safety if he has any plans to implement a standardised time-line, from the time of initial diagnosis, to fit patients suffering from hearing loss with a hearing aid.

(AQW 462/11)

Minister of Health, Social Services and Public Safety: Whilst there are currently no such plans in place, a Regional Audiology Group, facilitated by the Health and Social Care Board, is working to agree standards across Northern Ireland.

Hearing Screening Programme

Ms M Ritchie asked the Minister of Health, Social Services and Public Safety what evaluation has taken place of the hearing screening programme, with particular reference to training on tinnitus for GPs and Ear, Nose and Throat consultants.

(AQW 463/11)

Minister of Health, Social Services and Public Safety: The UK National Screening Committee has considered the current evidence on adult hearing loss and has recommended that research evidence does not support a population screening programme. Ear, Nose and Throat (ENT) consultants receive training on tinnitus as part of the Otology Module, which is evaluated through their professional examination and accreditation. ENT training, including the treatment of tinnitus, is also provided as part of the curriculum of junior doctors, including those training to become GPs. GPs receive ongoing training on ENT topics through Continuing Professional Development.

General Medical Council

Mr A Easton asked the Minister of Health, Social Services and Public Safety how many doctors have been referred to the General Medical Council for investigation in each of the last three years.

(AQW 477/11)

Minister of Health, Social Services and Public Safety: The number of doctors in Northern Ireland investigated under fitness to practise procedures by the General Medical Council in each of the last three years is shown below:

2007	2008	2009
96	104	107

Doctors Struck off the Medical Register

Mr A Easton asked the Minister of Health, Social Services and Public Safety how many doctors have been struck off the medical register in each of the last three years.

(AQW 478/11)

Minister of Health, Social Services and Public Safety: The number of doctors in Northern Ireland erased from the General Medical Council’s register in each of the last three years is shown below:

2007	2008	2009
1	0	5

Agenda for Change Settlement

Mr A Easton asked the Minister of Health, Social Services and Public Safety how many former members of staff have still to receive their Agenda for Change settlement.

(AQW 479/11)

Minister of Health, Social Services and Public Safety: There are 8,638 former employees of Health and Social Care that have yet to receive arrears of pay due to them under the Agenda for Change arrangements. Payroll staff are continuing to process these payments along with the other competing priorities of providing a payroll service for the current Health and Social Care workforce.

Unused Medicines

Mr A Easton asked the Minister of Health, Social Services and Public Safety what plans his Department has to deal with wastage as a result of unused medicines, particularly tablets.

(AQW 480/11)

Minister of Health, Social Services and Public Safety: My Department operates a policy whereby all unused medicines, including tablets, are destroyed where their full potency, safety or quality cannot be guaranteed. This is applicable in all cases were medicines reach their expiry dates or when unused medicines are returned by patients to their local pharmacies.

When a medicine has reached its expiry date it is routinely destroyed as out of date drugs can deteriorate in strength and become less effective. There is also the potential for expired drugs to pose a health risk to the patient. Unused medicines returned to pharmacies cannot be dispensed again to other patients as the pharmacist cannot be certain that the returned drugs have not been tampered with nor can the quality be guaranteed.

Local pharmacies offer a waste management service and patients are encouraged to return unused drugs to their pharmacies to ensure their safe disposal.

Heating Costs Across the Health Service

Mr A Easton asked the Minister of Health, Social Services and Public Safety what plans his Department has to reduce heating costs across the Health Service.

(AQW 481/11)

Minister of Health, Social Services and Public Safety: My Department encourages the adoption of best practice on heating efficiency including targeting and monitoring energy performance as part of our continuous drive to reduce overall carbon emissions and contribute to overall cost efficiencies.

Student Nurses

Mr F Molloy asked the Minister of Health, Social Services and Public Safety what provision is being put in place to ensure that student nurses can gain adequate work experience.

(AQW 483/11)

Minister of Health, Social Services and Public Safety: Student nurses in Northern Ireland complete a Nursing and Midwifery Council approved curriculum over three years. Approximately 50% of this time is spent in clinical placements.

Drumhaw Nursing Home

Mrs M O'Neill asked the Minister of Health, Social Services and Public Safety for an update on the future plans for Drumhaw Nursing Home, particularly in relation to previous commitments.

(AQW 484/11)

Minister of Health, Social Services and Public Safety: The Western Health and Social Care Trust remains committed to meeting the needs of all permanent residents within Drumhaw Residential Care Home for as long as the Home can meet their assessed care needs in line with the assurance I gave in my statement in April last year.

Medical Negligence Cases

Mr A Easton asked the Minister of Health, Social Services and Public Safety to detail the cost to each Health and Social Care Trust of (i) defending; and (ii) compensation resulting from medical negligence cases in the 2009/10 financial year.

(AQW 540/11)

Minister of Health, Social Services and Public Safety: The information requested is provided in the table below:

Table 1: Clinical Negligence Costs in 2009/10

HSC Trust	Number of cases	Damages / Compensation (£)	Defence Costs (£)	Plaintiff Costs (£)
Belfast	176	1,618,725	600,968	768,054
Northern	122	3,424,775	391,461	523,726
South Eastern	105	1,169,417	371,235	506,423
Southern	114	451,250	273,862	284,550
Western	58	676,793	109,590	344,830
NI Ambulance	0	0	0	0

Source: CN1

Cost of Treating Prisoners

Mr A Easton asked the Minister of Health, Social Services and Public Safety to detail the cost to the Health Service of treating prisoners in each of the last three years.

(AQW 542/11)

Minister of Health, Social Services and Public Safety: I refer the member to the information provided in AQW 7714/10.

Energy Bills

Mr A Easton asked the Minister of Health, Social Services and Public Safety what action is being taken to reduce energy bills in the Health and Social Care Trusts.

(AQW 543/11)

Minister of Health, Social Services and Public Safety: My Department encourages the adoption of best practice on energy efficiency including targeting and monitoring energy performance of the Health, Social Care and Public Safety Estates as part of our continuous drive to reduce carbon emissions and contribute to cost efficiencies.

Waiting List for Assessment by an Occupational Therapist

Lord Morrow asked the Minister of Health, Social Services and Public Safety how many people in each Health and Social Care Trust area are currently on the waiting list for assessment by an Occupational Therapist.

(AQW 545/11)

Minister of Health, Social Services and Public Safety: The information is not available in the format requested.

McDermott Brothers Case

Lord Morrow asked the Minister of Health, Social Services and Public Safety what is the cost to date of the legal advice received by the Western Health and Social Care Trust in relation to the McDermott brothers case.

(AQW 562/11)

Minister of Health, Social Services and Public Safety: I am advised that the Western Health and Social Care Trust (the Trust) has an annual block contract with the Directorate of Legal Services which covers all aspects of legal services sought by the Trust. The hours used to provide legal advice in this case have been drawn from this block. It is not possible to separate out the specific cost for this case.

I am also advised that, in addition, the Trust secured legal advice from Senior Counsel and the cost of this will be in the region of £4,000.

Waiting Times in Accident and Emergency Units

Mr A Ross asked the Minister of Health, Social Services and Public Safety to detail the average waiting time in each Accident and Emergency unit for each day of the month of August 2010.

(AQW 575/11)

Minister of Health, Social Services and Public Safety: Daily information on waiting times at Accident & Emergency Departments is not currently collected by the Department. Information on Accident & Emergency waiting times is collected and published monthly, and is available from:

http://www.dhsspsni.gov.uk/index/stats_research/stats-activity_stats-2/emergency_care.htm

Accident and Emergency Units

Mr A Ross asked the Minister of Health, Social Services and Public Safety what his Department is doing to encourage people to see their doctor or pharmacist rather than attending an Accident and Emergency unit for non-emergency matters.

(AQW 576/11)

Minister of Health, Social Services and Public Safety: I have taken many opportunities to remind the public about the importance of using A&E services responsibly.

Public information issued by the Public Health Agency emphasise that, unless the condition is one that clearly requires emergency treatment, members of the public should contact their GP, and I have invested over £6.6m additional funding to GP practices in the past three years for improving patients’ access.

Community pharmacy offers a range of services aimed at dealing with non-emergency matters. These services include advice on the response to symptoms, treatment of minor conditions and the appropriate use of medicines. They are widely publicised in the community and healthcare settings.

Medical Drugs

Mr A Ross asked the Minister of Health, Social Services and Public Safety why Northern Ireland spends proportionately more on medical drugs than any other part of the UK.

(AQW 577/11)

Minister of Health, Social Services and Public Safety: We have the highest portion of elderly people in the UK and this section of our population is growing. We also have the youngest population in the UK. These two groups make the greatest demands on the Health Service.

My Department has increased the generic dispensing rate from 43% to the current rate of 59%. It is anticipated that the target of 64% will be achieved in 2010-11, which compares favourably with England.

In secondary care a substantial proportion of the medicines are procured through a regional tendering process thus ensuring best value for money for the Health Service.

Disposal of Unused Drugs

Mr A Ross asked the Minister of Health, Social Services and Public Safety to detail the cost to the Health Service of the disposal of unused drugs in each of the last five years.

(AQW 578/11)

Minister of Health, Social Services and Public Safety: Across pharmacy practices in Northern Ireland the safe disposal of prescription drugs and medicines is managed through a waste medicines contract in line with legislative requirements. The costs for the last 5 years are set out in the table below.

Year	Cost	Period	Cost expressed as % of total DHSSPS budget
2005-06	£202,968	July 05 – June 06	0.005%
2006-07	£290,000	April 06 – March 07	0.007%
2007-08	£337,940	July 07 - June 08	0.008%
2008-09	£319,790	Jan 08 – Dec 09	0.008%
2009-10	£371,390	April 09 – March 10	0.008%

All of the five Health Trusts operate similar clinical waste disposal contracts. The costs in relation to these contracts are not available.

Prescriptions

Mr A Ross asked e Minister of Health, Social Services and Public Safety if he has identified any trends in the number of prescriptions issued or collected since he removed the prescription charge in April 2010.

(AQW 579/11)

Minister of Health, Social Services and Public Safety: Data are only available for the first three months since prescriptions charges were abolished and it is not yet possible to confirm trends.

Radiotherapy Centre at Altnagelvin Hospital

Mr M Durkan asked the Minister of Health, Social Services and Public Safety for an update on development of the Radiotherapy Centre at Altnagelvin Hospital.

(AQW 623/11)

Minister of Health, Social Services and Public Safety: The Western Trust and my Department are working to ensure that the new development is appropriate in terms of capacity, quality and value for money.

The business case approval process is well advanced – it requires that the Trust’s proposal has the support of the Health and Social Care Board as commissioner of services, the Department of Health, Social Services and Public Safety and the Department of Finance and Personnel.

The timescale for the completion of the project cannot be confirmed until the business case has been approved and funding confirmed following the outcome of Budget 2010.

Trigeminal Neuralgia Patients

Mr C Lyttle asked the Minister of Health, Social Services and Public Safety why there is currently no specialist surgical treatment, such as microvascular decompression, available to Trigeminal Neuralgia patients.

(AQW 659/11)

Minister of Health, Social Services and Public Safety: Trigeminal Neuralgia is rare and affects around 70 people each year in Northern Ireland. Medication is the first line of treatment but for patients whose condition does not respond to medication, surgery may be an option. It is for clinicians to decide on the most appropriate treatment for patients including whether a referral for specialist surgery may be appropriate.

Food Standards Agency

Mr C Lyttle asked the Minister of Health, Social Services and Public Safety for his assessment of the impact that the reorganisation of the Food Standards Agency will have on its operations in Northern Ireland.

(AQW 792/11)

Minister of Health, Social Services and Public Safety: Food standards is a transferred matter so the devolved administrations are not bound by Westminster government decisions affecting FSA in England. Any decisions regarding the functions of the Food Standards Agency for Northern Ireland will be a matter for the Northern Ireland Executive. As changes are implemented in England the priority for Northern Ireland must be that our access to expertise and specialist support is not diminished.

Gastric Banding

Mrs M O'Neill asked the Minister of Health, Social Services and Public Safety whether gastric banding is available through the Health Service.

(AQW 865/11)

Minister of Health, Social Services and Public Safety: Presently there is no dedicated bariatric surgery service available in Northern Ireland. However where an individual GP considers that a patient would benefit from such surgery there is a procedure which allows for the GP to exceptionally refer the case to the Health and Social Care Board who may then, subject to clinical assessment, arrange for the appropriate surgery to be carried out in England.

Regional Neurology Centre at the Royal Victoria Hospital

Dr A McDonnell asked the Minister of Health, Social Services and Public Safety if the number of available beds at the Regional Neurology Centre at the Royal Victoria Hospital will be reduced from 23 to 15 from the 1 October 2010.

(AQW 874/11)

Minister of Health, Social Services and Public Safety: The delivery of services at the Royal Victoria Hospital is a matter for the Belfast Health and Social Care Trust as the service provider. I am however aware that the Trust plans to reduce the number of available neurology beds in October 2010 and bring the neurology service in line with comparable peers in other parts of the UK. The reduction in beds is being planned in parallel with an ongoing modernisation programme within the neurology service.

This programme includes a number of workstreams to review current neurology services and patient pathway models and includes a review of bed utilisation. The aim of the modernisation programme is to develop a more efficient and responsive service with reduced length of inpatient stays that will enable the same level of inpatient activity to be provided with a reduced number of beds.

DEPARTMENT OF JUSTICE

Capital Projects in the North Down Area

Mr P Weir asked the Minister of Justice for an update on all his Department's capital projects in the North Down area that (i) were or will be commenced or completed in 2010/11; (ii) are planned for 2011/12; and (iii) have been postponed because of budgetary constraints.

(AQW 430/11)

Minister of Justice (Mr D Ford): A number of capital works to improve the Newtownards courthouse are due to be completed by 1^st October 2010.

Bangor and Newtownards courthouses received an upgrade to their CCTV system and the number of surveillance cameras was increased. This work was completed during August 2010.

Information and Communication Technology Network upgrades at Bangor and Newtownards courthouses will be commenced or completed in 2010/11.

The Police Service of Northern Ireland completed the ground floor refurbishment of the Newtownards PSNI station in 2010/11 and is planning to commence the improvement / softening of the Newtownards Gatehouse during 2010/11. This project will continue into 2011/12.

No capital projects in the North Down area have been postponed because of budgetary constraints.

The Department of Justice budget has not yet been set for 2011/12 but no new capital projects in the North Down area currently planned for that year.

Police Stations

Mr D McKay asked the Minister of Justice to detail any correspondence he has had with the PSNI in relation to the delay in disposing of 26 police stations; and the cost to the PSNI of maintaining these stations.

(AQW 445/11)

Minister of Justice: The management of the police estate is a matter for the Chief Constable, who is accountable to the Northern Ireland Policing Board. I am committed to respecting the operational independence of the Chief Constable and the role of the Policing Board.

The information requested on the cost to the PSNI of maintaining stations can be obtained by contacting the PSNI directly.

Telephone Rights For Prisoners

Lord Morrow asked the Minister of Justice, pursuant to AQW 21/11, whether non-foreign national prisoners are entitled to free weekly phone calls, and if not, what telephone rights are available to them.

(AQW 541/11)

Minister of Justice: All prisoners are entitled to purchase phone credits, the limits being dependent on the regime level. In addition, local managers have discretion to permit individual free telephone calls, where considered appropriate, especially on committal to custody and in instances of family distress, and in particular where prisoners have had no family contact for prolonged periods. Phone calls are also permitted where prisoners have no financial support from families.

Fines

Miss M McIlveen asked the Minister of Justice to detail the total amount imposed in fines by the Courts in each of the last three years; and how much of each currently remains unpaid.

(AQW 617/11)

Minister of Justice: The table below details the amount of fines imposed in each of the last three years and the total amounts that remain unpaid.

	2007 (Jan-Dec)	2008 (Jan-Dec)	2009 (Jan-Dec)
Total Fines Imposed	£10,923,136.77	£8,088,623.15	£7,862,453.10
Total Fines Outstanding*	£807,622.91	£1,144,785.89	£1,583,082.47
Percentage Outstanding	7.4%	14.2%	20.1%

* The Total Fines Outstanding figure is calculated against the Total Fines Imposed in that year.

More recently imposed fines may not be yet due for payment. In default of payment, the outstanding fines will be subject to enforcement by PSNI.

Northern Ireland Courts and Tribunals Service also operate a Fine Collection Scheme which aims to encourage prompt payment of fines. Since its introduction, in May 2009, there has been a 30% reduction in the number of fine warrants issued to the PSNI, this equates to £1.8m recovered without the need for police intervention.

Drugs Seizures in Prisoners

Miss M McIlveen asked the Minister of Justice to detail the number of drugs seizures from (i) prisoners; and (ii) visitors in prisons in each of the last three years.

(AQW 618/11)

Minister of Justice: The table below sets out the number of drug seizures from prisoners and visitors in each of the last 3 years:

	2007	2008	2009	2010 to date	TOTAL
Prisoners	405	382	291	176	1254
Visitors	14	34	112	45	205

Table 2 below sets out the number of reports (also expressed as a percentage of the number of seizures) made by prison authorities to the PSNI of incidents of visitors to prisons supplying drugs to inmates in each of the last three years:

2007	2008	2009	2010 to date	TOTAL
14	23	35	17	89
Number of Visitor Referrals as a percentage of number of seizures from visitors
100%	67.6%	31.2%	37.8%	43.4%

However, in addition, in 2010 there have been a further twelve cases resulting from joint Prison Service and Police operations which do not show as referrals since arrest was initiated by the police on site who then referred cases for prosecution. This was a proactive approach by Maghaberry management with the PSNI.

Any visitor caught attempting to supply drugs of any quantity to inmates will be removed from the establishment and referred to Prison Service Headquarters with a recommendation for suspension of visiting rights, and the PSNI may be contacted with a view to the pressing of charges.

The Prison Service takes very seriously its responsibility to prevent illegal drugs entering prisons and has a range of measures in place to provide protection. These include searching of staff and visitors prior to entry, x-ray scanning of certain items of clothing and articles being taken into the prison and the deployment of dogs which are trained to detect illicit drugs.

Visitors to Prisons Supplying Drugs to Inmates

Miss M McIlveen asked e Minister of Justice to detail the number of reports made to the PSNI by the prison authorities of incidents of visitors to prisons supplying drugs to inmates in each of the last three years.

(AQW 621/11)

Minister of Justice: The table below sets out the number of drug seizures from prisoners and visitors in each of the last 3 years:

	2007	2008	2009	2010 to date	TOTAL
Prisoners	405	382	291	176	1254
Visitors	14	34	112	45	205

Table 2 below sets out the number of reports (also expressed as a percentage of the number of seizures) made by prison authorities to the PSNI of incidents of visitors to prisons supplying drugs to inmates in each of the last three years:

2007	2008	2009	2010 to date	TOTAL
14	23	35	17	89
Number of Visitor Referrals as a percentage of number of seizures from visitors
100%	67.6%	31.2%	37.8%	43.4%

However, in addition, in 2010 there have been a further twelve cases resulting from joint Prison Service and Police operations which do not show as referrals since arrest was initiated by the police on site who then referred cases for prosecution. This was a proactive approach by Maghaberry management with the PSNI.

Any visitor caught attempting to supply drugs of any quantity to inmates will be removed from the establishment and referred to Prison Service Headquarters with a recommendation for suspension of visiting rights, and the PSNI may be contacted with a view to the pressing of charges.

The Prison Service takes very seriously its responsibility to prevent illegal drugs entering prisons and has a range of measures in place to provide protection. These include searching of staff and visitors prior to entry, x-ray scanning of certain items of clothing and articles being taken into the prison and the deployment of dogs which are trained to detect illicit drugs.

Closed Prison Visits

Miss M McIlveen asked e Minister of Justice how many closed visits have taken place in each prison in each of the last three years.

(AQW 622/11)

Minister of Justice: The information provided from the Northern Ireland Prison Service records is as below:

Year	Maghaberry Closed Visits	Magilligan Closed Visits	Hydebank Wood Closed Visits	Total
Oct 07 – Sept 08	991	189	92	1272
Oct 08 – Sept 09	714	88	205	1007
Oct 09 – Sept 10	375	75	264	714

Separated Prisoners

Lord Morrow asked the Minister of Justice how many separated prisoners are currently on remand in Maghaberry Prison; and how many of them have signed up to the separated compact.

(AQW 689/11)

Minister of Justice: On 28 September 2010 there were 21 separated prisoners on remand and one awaiting trial. Every applicant to go into separation signs an application form. If the application meets the criteria and is approved, the compact is read to the prisoner and the prisoner is asked to sign. 17 of the 21 themselves signed the Compact, in respect of the others a Governor endorsed the compact accordingly.

Pitch Incursion

Mr K Robinson asked the Minister of Justice, pursuant to AQW 233/11, what specific circumstances would constitute a lawful excuse for a pitch incursion.

(AQW 697/11)

Minister of Justice: In the forthcoming Justice Bill, the proposed new offence will recognise that the circumstances in which it may be appropriate and necessary for a person to go on to a pitch without lawful authority can be unpredictable. It will therefore permit, in general terms, incursions with lawful excuse. In practice, such incursions could include one fan seeking to evade a serious attack by another by going on to the pitch, or an individual going on to the pitch to provide medical assistance / first aid.

Pitch Incursion

Mr K Robinson asked the Minister of Justice how far in advance and by what method of notification must sports match organisers seek authorisation for a pitch incursion; and for his assessment of whether a pitch incursion would be considered a public assembly under the draft Public Assemblies, Parades and Protests Bill.

(AQW 698/11)

Minister of Justice: Under my proposals for legislation, match organisers will themselves determine who should be permitted entry on to the pitch and in what circumstances entry is authorised.    I do not believe that a pitch incursion would be considered a public assembly under the draft public assemblies legislation.

Released Prisoners

Miss M McIlveen asked the Minister of Justice what proportion of prisoners released in each of the last three years are recorded as having no fixed abode.

(AQW 700/11)

Minister of Justice: The table below shows the proportion of prisoners recorded as having no fixed abode on discharge within the last three calendar years.

	2007	%	2008	%	2009	%
No fixed abode	242	6.47%	298	8.04%	315	8.46%
Total Discharges	3738		3708		3724

Non-Molestation Orders

Miss M McIlveen asked the Minister of Justice to detail (i) the number of convictions for breaches of Non-Molestation Orders in each of the last five years; and (ii) the proportion which resulted in (a) custodial; and (b) non-custodial sentences.

(AQW 701/11)

Minister of Justice: The table below documents the number convicted for the offence ‘Breach of Non-Molestation Order’ and the percentage given a custodial or non-custodial disposal.

Data cover the calendar years 2002 to 2006 (the latest year for which figures are currently available) and are collated on the principal offence rule; only the most serious offence for which an offender is convicted is included.

Number convicted for the offence ‘Breach of Non-Molestation Order’ and percentage given a custodial or non-custodial disposal 2002-2006

Year	Custodial		Non-custodial		Total number convicted
	Number	%	Number	%
2002	17	7	219	93	236
2003	22	9	217	91	239
2004	24	9	231	91	255
2005	24	9	229	91	253
2006	26	11	219	89	245

Non-Molestation Orders

Miss M McIlveen asked the Minister of Justice how many Non-Molestation Orders were issued in each of the last five years.

(AQW 702/11)

Minister of Justice: Information on the number of Mon-Molestation Orders made was not centrally recorded prior to March 2007. Consequently, full year figures are only available from 2008.

In 2008 there were a total of 7759 Orders made and in 2009 there were 7370 Orders made.

Convictions for Hate Crime

Mr J Dallat asked the Minister of Justice to detail the number of convictions for hate crime in each of the last five years; and the average sentence imposed.

(AQW 710/11)

Minister of Justice: Information on the number of convictions for hate crime has only been recorded since March 2007 following the recommendations of the Criminal Justice Inspectorate Report on hate crime published that year.

The table below details the number of convictions for offences aggravated by hostility (hate crime). Given the range of sentences imposed, it is not possible to state an average sentence for hate crime.

Cases are recorded as hate crime where the prosecutor opens this to the court or where the court makes this finding on the evidence presented.

Convictions and Sentences Recorded for Hate Crime

Year	Number of Charges on which Convicted	Sentences Imposed
2007(Mar-Dec)	4	Imprisonment for 3 months suspended for 2 years and Compensation Payment £1000
		Imprisonment for 2 months suspended for 2 years and Compensation Payment £250
		Imprisonment 6 months
		Imprisonment 8 months
2008	6	Custody Youth Conference - Detained in Young Offenders Centre (YOC) for 1 month
		Detained in YOC for 4 months
		Youth Conference Order
		Imprisoned for 3 months suspended for 2 years
		Detained in YOC for 4 months suspended for 2 years and Compensation Payment £500
		Detained in YOC for 8 months suspended for 2 years and Compensation Payment £1000
2009	1	Youth Conference Order

Test Purchasing of Alcoholic Beverages at Off-sales Premises

Mr C Lyttle asked the Minister of Justice for an update on his Department's review of the test purchasing of alcoholic beverages at off-sales premises.

(AQW 747/11)

Minister of Justice: Section 67 of the Criminal Justice (Northern Ireland) Order 2008 provided the powers for the PSNI to undertake test purchases of alcohol. The Secretary of State issued Guidance to the Chief Constable that stated there would be a formal review one year after test purchase powers are first brought into operation. The PSNI are currently completing the piloting of these powers and when this outcome is known they will commence the full operation of this legislation. Only when these powers have been utilised for one year will a review be carried out.

Convictions in Relation to the Use of Fireworks

Mr A Easton asked the Minister of Justice to detail the number of convictions in relation to the use of fireworks in each of the last three years.

(AQW 752/11)

Minister of Justice: The table below gives the number convicted for firework related offences.

Data cover the calendar years 2004 to 2006 (the latest year for which figures are currently available) and are collated on the principal offence rule; only the most serious offence for which an offender is convicted is included.

Number convicted for firework related offences¹ 2004-2006

Offence	2004	2005	2006
Unlawful use	1	2	3
Unlawful possession	7	13	15
Unlawful sale1	2	1	2
Unlawful purchase	0	1	1
Total	10	17	21

1. Includes failing to keep proper records of firework sales.

Public Funding for Restorative Justice Schemes

Mr P Weir asked the Minister of Justice to detail the level of public funding for restorative justice schemes in each of the last three years.

(AQW 762/11)

Minister of Justice: Funding is provided to two Community-based Restorative Justice (CBRJ) organisations - Northern Ireland Alternatives and Community Restorative Justice Ireland - which manage a total of 16 schemes formally accredited under the Government Protocol for CBRJ Schemes. The amount of public funding provided through DoJ to these bodies in each of the last three financial years is detailed in the table below;

Year	Organisation	Funding (£’s)1
2007/08	Community Restorative Justice Ireland	£0
	Northern Ireland Alternatives	£87,575
2008/09	Community Restorative Justice Ireland	£60,814
	Northern Ireland Alternatives	£70,000
2009/10	Community Restorative Justice Ireland	£124,774
	Northern Ireland Alternatives	£113,428

¹ Includes funding by DoJ, its arm’s length bodies and funding from PSNI disbursed through DoJ.

Sentences for Rape

Mr A Easton asked the Minister of Justice what plans he has to increase sentences for rape.

(AQW 774/11)

Minister of Justice: As the maximum sentence available for rape is already life imprisonment, I have no plans to increase sentences for this offence.

District Command and Business Services

Mr S Hamilton asked the Minister of Justice to detail the cost of the proposed move of district command and business services from Newtownards to Bangor Police Stations; and the cost of originally establishing district command and business services at Newtownards Police Station after the recent reorganisation of Police districts.

(AQW 830/11)

Minister of Justice: This is an operational matter for the Chief Constable, who is accountable to the Northern Ireland Policing Board. I am committed to respecting the operational independence of the Chief Constable and the role of the Policing Board.

You may therefore wish to direct your question to the PSNI.

Preliminary Enquiries at Magistrates' Courts

Lord Morrow asked the Minister of Justice to outline the procedures followed when holding Preliminary Enquiries at Magistrates' Courts before transfer to Crown Court; and whether it is normal practice to hold these enquiries by video-link.

(AQW 993/11)

Minister of Justice: A Preliminary Inquiry (known generally as a "PE") is a procedure whereby a Magistrates’ Court undertakes an assessment of the evidence in a case in order to determine whether or not the accused should be committed for trial to the Crown Court.

Before a Preliminary Inquiry can take place, the Public Prosecution Service must give notice of intention to request a Preliminary Inquiry to the relevant Clerk of Petty Sessions and serve a copy of that notice, together with other prescribed documentation, on the accused a reasonable time before the day fixed for the hearing of the Preliminary Inquiry.

At the hearing, the Magistrates’ Court will ascertain whether all the required documentation has been served on the accused and, if the accused is not legally represented, the court will also explain the purpose of the proceedings. The charge will then be read to the accused who will be asked whether or not he objects to the holding of a Preliminary Inquiry. The court must be satisfied that the accused understands the effect of proceeding by way of Preliminary Inquiry. Where the accused does not object, he will then be informed of his rights to give evidence, call witnesses or tender any written statements. In practice, however, these rights are rarely exercised and most Preliminary Inquiries proceed on the basis of the written evidence.

During a Preliminary Inquiry, the accused has an opportunity to challenge the sufficiency of the prosecution case. Once all the procedural requirements have been met, the court determines whether or not there is a prima facie case and, if so satisfied, returns the accused for trial to the Crown Court on bail or in custody, as appropriate.

An accused person will normally be present in court for a Preliminary Inquiry. There are, however, certain circumstances in which a Preliminary Inquiry may be conducted without the accused being physically present, for example:

• where he has been transferred to a hospital for treatment for a mental disorder, the court is satisfied that he is unfit to take part in the proceedings, and he is legally represented;
• where he is prevented from effectively participating in the proceedings by reason of his being under 18 or suffering from a mental disorder. In these circumstances, the court may allow an accused to give evidence at a Preliminary Inquiry via live link.

Preliminary Inquiries have also been held by live link in a number of cases at the direction of the District Judge (Magistrates’ Courts). I understand this to be with the consent of the parties.

Prisoners Released in Error

Mr B McCrea asked the Minister of Justice, in light of the revelation that a second prisoner has been released in error, when he was informed of this development; why no public statement was made for up to three days after the event; if any other prisoners have been released in error in the last six months; and what guarantees can the Minister give that this will not happen again before the end of October.

(AQW 1044/11)

Minister of Justice: During the afternoon of Friday 1 October, I was informed by the Director General of the Prison Service of the erroneous release of a second prisoner (Connelly James Cummins) from Downpatrick Crown Court.

No public statement was made until full details were available and confirmed. Mr Cummins was posted as unlawfully at large on the Prison Service Website at lunchtime on Monday 4 October and I briefed the House on the circumstances that afternoon in response to an urgent oral question from Mr Tom Elliott MLA. The Prison Service does not ordinarily issue public statements or post details of remand or untried prisoners who are unlawfully at large. The exception was made in the case of Mr Cummins and Mr Paliutis because of the unique circumstances under which they were erroneously released.

There have been no other prisoners erroneously released by the Prison Service in the last six months, or - I am advised - for at least 5 years.

As I told the House, I have commissioned an urgent inquiry and I have been assured by the Director General of the Prison Service that measures are already in place to improve procedures. These include a strengthening of staff capability, improved communications from the videolink to the office which authorises release, and additional checks and balances in court holding areas before release is authorised. I am due to receive an interim report next week which will provide a further opportunity to consider very early remedial measures.

I will continue to take a close interest in the progress of the inquiry and keep the House informed.

DEPARTMENT FOR REGIONAL DEVELOPMENT

Rail and Bus Fuel Installation Contracts

Mr J Dallat asked the Minister for Regional Development to detail the process for awarding rail and bus fuel installation contracts; and the procedures in place to ensure that unsuccessful tender applicants are notified of the details of the contract awarded.

(AQW 506/11)

Minister for Regional Development (Mr C Murphy): Translink as a Centre of Expertise operates under the Utilities Regulations 2006 for applicable procurement activities over the relevant threshold. For procurements like this one which are under the threshold, Translink conducts procurement activity in line with the principles relating to public procurement laid down by the NI Executive and promoted via Central Procurement Directorate guidance.

With regard to disseminating information to tenderers, Translink have told me that it follows the principles set out in the guidance from the Central Procurement Directorate (CPD) where appropriate. This includes the Procurement Guidance Note 02/08, now replaced by 01/10, relating to Information disclosure throughout the procurement process and the application of the rules on the Standstill Period.

Following these rules and Translink’s own information pack it attempts to ensure that applicants are kept informed on issues that are relevant to them at each stage of the tendering process. Specifically unsuccessful tenderers are to be fully advised of the assessment of their tender(s) and relevant scoring.

In the case of the rail and bus fuel installation contracts, after the tenders were evaluated the unsuccessful tenderers were notified on 1 October 2009 of the fact that they had been unsuccessful and of the name of the successful tenderer. Following a reminder from one of the unsuccessful tenderers six days later, they were immediately informed of their scoring in the tender process together with that of the successful tenderer.

As in any procurement particular information, specifically tender values, can be withheld where it would prejudice fair competition between economic operators in the future. I have been told by Translink that the successful tenderer in this case had provided the lowest priced and most economically advantageous tender and none of the unsuccessful tenderers have since invoked Translink’s complaints procedure in respect of either of these tenders.

Railway Track between Coleraine and Londonderry

Mr G Campbell asked the Minister for Regional Development to provide a timescale for the improvement and upgrading of the railway track between Coleraine and Londonderry; and the estimated duration of closure for these works.

(AQW 531/11)

Minister for Regional Development: The Economic Appraisal for the Coleraine to Derry Track Renewals project is currently being assessed by DFP to confirm that it demonstrates Value for Money. When that assessment is complete, I will consider giving approval for the project to proceed taking account of available capital funding.

Subject to that approval, the preliminary work is planned to commence in the spring of 2011. At this time the closure of the line between Coleraine is estimated to last for one year beginning in April 2012. However, the start and duration of the closure will be reviewed by Translink when the project receives approval to commence work on site.

CO 71 Contract

Mr G Savage asked the Minister for Regional Development (i) whether NI Water carried out a cost benefit analysis on engaging mechanical and engineering staff as opposed to embedded contract staff under tender contract CO 71, to compare (a) salaries; (b) sick pay; (c) annual leave entitlements; (d) pension entitlements; (e) company vehicle use; (f) training requirements; and (g) personal protective equipment requirements; and (ii) whether the findings of this analysis will be published.

(AQW 555/11)

Minister for Regional Development: I have been advised by NI Water (NIW) that it does not recognise the term "embedded contract staff". In order to ensure efficient and effective use of its finite resources, NIW continuously review costs and has undertaken an analysis of contract staff employed by a variety of contractors, including those engaged under contract C071. The nature of the analysis is considered to be commercially sensitive and NIW will not be publishing the findings.

NI Water

Mr G Savage asked the Minister for Regional Development how NI Water ensures and monitors that all its staff are treated with dignity in the workplace.

(AQW 556/11)

Minister for Regional Development: I have been advised by NI Water (NIW) that it has a wide range of policies in place to ensure its staff are treated with dignity in the workplace. These include an Equal Opportunities & Diversity policy, a Code of Conduct, a Harassment & Bullying policy, a Health and Wellbeing policy, Grievance procedures and a Discipline policy. In addition, NIW offers staff support through an Employee Assistance Programme and a dedicated Staff Support Officer.

Monitoring takes place through the recording and management of any formal complaints within the above processes together with a quarterly strategic review of all health, safety and well-being issues. Also, an annual staff survey is carried out providing staff the opportunity to feedback on a wide range of workplace issues. The highest scores in this year’s survey were in the area of equality in the workplace.

Public Transport for People with a Disability

Mr J Spratt asked the Minister for Regional Development what provision he has made, within his Department's budget, to provide increased access to public transport for people with a disability.

(AQW 564/11)

Minister for Regional Development: The following programmes are supported by my Department to improve access to public transport for people with disabilities:

The Transport Programme for People with Disabilities with an annual budget of £4.6 million provides support to services such as the Shopmobility and the Door to Door transport scheme.

The Rural Transport Fund with an annual budget of £4.75m provides support to 16 Rural Community Transport Partnerships to offer a range of specialised transport services to people with reduced mobility, including those with disabilities, living in rural areas throughout the North.

My Department has also made funding available to enable Translink to improve the accessibility of its services. Over the last three financial years, the Department has provided Translink with more than £74 million for the purchase of new buses and more than £10 million for the upgrading of railway stations and halts, in accordance with the Disability Discrimination Act 1995. In addition, 20 more new trains are being purchased at present at a cost of £114 million, and are expected to be in service by 2013.

Water Charges

Mr J Spratt asked the Minister for Regional Development what (i) exemptions; and (ii) discounts for water charges are available to community groups.

(AQW 566/11)

Minister for Regional Development: I have been advised by NI Water that all non domestic premises are subject to water and sewerage charges and trade effluent charges where applicable, and there are no exemptions from charges or discounts available to community groups.

If a customer is charged on a measured basis and rates are payable on the property, they are entitled to apply for a domestic allowance. If granted, charges will not be applied in each half yearly billing period until consumption exceeds 100 cubic metres for water or 95 cubic metres for sewerage. Unmeasured charges based on the Nett Annual Value of a property continue to be charged to the consumer at 50 percent.

Carshare Scheme in South Belfast

Mr J Spratt asked the Minister for Regional Development how many people participated in the Carshare Scheme in the South Belfast constituency, in the last 12 months.

(AQW 568/11)

Minister for Regional Development: It is not possible to provide information about the number of people participating in my Department’s carsharing scheme by constituency, nor over a period of time. However, a search of the www.carshareni.com database on 23 September 2010 indicates that 150 registered members record their journey originating in an area broadly equivalent to the South Belfast constituency.

Coleraine to Londonderry Railway Line

Mr M Storey asked the Minister for Regional Development for an update on the upgrade of the Coleraine to Londonderry railway line and the expected completion date for this work.

(AQW 613/11)

Minister for Regional Development: The Economic Appraisal for the Coleraine to Derry Track Renewals project is currently being assessed by DFP to confirm that it demonstrates Value for Money. When that assessment is complete, I will consider giving approval for the project to proceed taking account of available capital funding.

Subject to that approval, the preliminary work is planned to commence in the spring of 2011 with all work completed by March 2013. However, the completion date will be reviewed by Translink when the project receives approval to commence work on site.

Board of NI Water

Mr P McGlone asked the Minister for Regional Development (i) whether a record was kept of conversations between his departmental officals and the Chief Executive of NI Water regarding the withdrawal of the Chief Executive's resignation; (ii) if these discussions prompted the Minister to seek legal advice in relation to the removal of Directors from the Board of NI Water; (iii) if the Minister himself had any discussions with the Chief Executive prior to the withdrawal of his resignation; and (iv) to provide detail of these discussions and any commitments given.

(AQW 619/11)

Minister for Regional Development: (i) I have been advised that no record was kept of conversations between my departmental officials and the Chief Executive of NI Water (NIW) regarding the withdrawal of the Chief Executive's resignation.

(ii) Any discussions that took place did not prompt me to seek legal advice in relation to the removal of Directors from the Board of NIW.

(iii) I did not have any discussions with the Chief Executive prior to the withdrawal of his resignation. (iv) No discussions took place and no commitments were given, therefore I have no detail to disclose.

NI Water

Mr P McGlone asked the Minister for Regional Development whether he is aware that the Chief Executive of NI Water informed the Independent Review Team of NI Water that he was content with the first draft of its report.

(AQW 620/11)

Minister for Regional Development: I was not aware that the Chief Executive of NI Water (NIW) informed the Independent Review Team that he was content with the first draft of its report.

A2 Maydown to City of Derry Airport

Mr M Durkan asked e Minister for Regional Development (i) how much has been spent on the dualling of the A2 Maydown to City of Derry Airport to date; (ii) what is the current estimated cost of the completed project; and (iii) when the works will be completed.

(AQW 624/11)

Minister for Regional Development: My Department’s Roads Service has advised that a total of £28.6 million has been spent to date on the dualling of the A2 Maydown to City of Derry Airport dualling scheme. This amount includes preparation, land and construction costs. At present, it is estimated that completion of the scheme will cost in the region of £44 million.

The scheme continues to make good progress and is expected to be substantially completed by December 2010.

Independent Review Team of NI Water

Mr P McGlone asked the Minister for Regional Development if he is aware of (i) emails between the Permanent Secretary and the Director of the Shareholder Unit on 16 February 2010 discussing the outcomes that they would require from the Independent Review Team Report into NI Water; (ii) exchanges between officials which included suggestions that the Independent Review Team of NI Water should make recommendations to the Executive regarding water charges.

(AQW 625/11)

Minister for Regional Development: (i) I was not aware of emails between the Permanent Secretary and the Director of the Shareholder Unit on 16 February 2010.

(ii) I was also not aware of exchanges between officials which included suggestions that the Independent Review Team of NI Water (NIW) should make recommendations to the Executive regarding water charges.

Consultants

Mr P McGlone asked the Minister for Regional Development how much was paid to the consultants who continued the work originally contracted out to LLP after the termination of their contract; and to detail the tendering process under which the consultants were engaged.

(AQW 626/11)

Minister for Regional Development: I have been advised by Northern Ireland Water (NIW) that Contracting Out was previously engaged by NIW in relation to 2 discrete pieces of work:

1. Advice and assistance in relation to PPP contracts and
2. Advice and assistance in relation to the termination of a commercial contract.

Upon termination of the arrangement with Contracting Out the work described at (i) above has been carried out by the NIW Commercial Contracts Management Team.

As a result of legal proceedings in relation to the termination of the commercial contract referred to at (ii) above, NIW appointed a firm to act as both Expert Witness and Forensic Accountants. This appointment was procured competitively under NIW’s professional Services Framework. It is important to note that at no time did Contracting Out act on behalf of NIW as Expert Witness or Forensic Accountant in this matter. The costs incurred by NIW in relation to the Expert Witness and Forensic Accountants’ appointment were £390,000.

CO 71 Contract

Mr G Savage asked the Minister for Regional Development (i) whether NI Water embedded contract staff, engaged under the CO 71 contract, are currently licensed to enter confined spaces and wear breathing apparatus, as per the tender specification; and (ii) if not (a) what steps are being taken to enforce this tender requirement; (b) has it been reported to the Health and Safety Executive; and (c) does this situation constitute a breach of contract.

(AQW 652/11)

Minister for Regional Development: I have been advised by Northern Ireland Water (NIW) that as both the Terms and Conditions of Contract CO71 and the day-to-day operation of the Contract are the subject of legal action by a member of the contractor's staff, it would be inappropriate to disclose information in respect of any matters that may impact upon the ongoing litigation or which could in any way help to circumvent the legal process.

Independent Review Team

Mr P McGlone asked the Minister for Regional Development the date on which he and his Department were first advised by the Chairman and Board members of NI Water of their concerns over the independence of the Independent Review Team.

(AQW 661/11)

Minister for Regional Development: On 28 January 2010 the former Chairman of NI Water (NIW), Chris Mellor, wrote to Jackie Henry as a member of the Independent Review Team (IRT) seeking her written assurance about the independence of each member of the IRT. This letter was copied to Paul Priestly who subsequently drew it to my attention the same day.

NI Water

Mr P McGlone asked the Minister for Regional Development, in relation to the NI Water proceedings against Steria, (i) when the legal action was dropped; (ii) how much this action has cost NI Water and the Department: and (iii) how much all cases and settlements with Steria, including legal and other fees, have cost the public purse to date.

(AQW 663/11)

Minister for Regional Development: I have been advised by NI Water (NIW) that the terms of settlement of this matter are confidential between the parties. However, as the Member will be aware, the NI Audit Office has full access to this information as part of the current investigation commissioned by the PAC.

Independent Review Team Report

Mr P McGlone asked the Minister for Regional Development for his assessment of the detail of the first draft of the Independent Review Team report.

(AQW 664/11)

Minister for Regional Development: I did not see a draft version of the Independent Review Team report.

Car Parking Companies

Ms D Purvis asked the Minister for Regional Development for his assessment of whether car parking companies or private security firms acting as, or on behalf of, car parking companies could be facilitating a criminal act by allowing drivers to leave closed car parks without paying their parking fee.

(AQW 837/11)

Minister for Regional Development: I am unable to comment in relation to car parks for which my Department is not responsible.

However, my Department’s Roads Service is responsible for managing 128 charged car parks, 3 of which are physically closed when the charged hours of the car park finish each day. These car parks are staffed by employees of NSL Services Ltd, which is contracted by Roads Service to manage the charged car parks.

No facility is provided to release vehicles which remain locked in these car parks after closing time, the details of which are clearly signed at the entry points to the car parks. Any vehicles which remain parked overnight in these car parks are charged the relevant tariff for the duration of their stay.

In relation to the matter of facilitating a criminal act, I can confirm that non-payment of the relevant charges within my Department’s car parks is not a criminal offence, but is a decriminalised offence through the Traffic Management (Northern Ireland) Order 2005.

DEPARTMENT FOR SOCIAL DEVELOPMENT

Mortgage Repayments

Mr P Weir asked the Minister for Social Development what help is currently available from his Department for people struggling to make their mortgage repayments.

(AQW 460/11)

Minister for Social Development (Mr A Attwood): The Mortgage Debt Advice Service, delivered by Housing Rights Service was launched in May 2009. 755 clients used this service during its first year in operation. This specialised service is preventing where possible, people here from becoming homeless as a consequence of housing related debt. This year, my Department has allocated additional funding to enable an expanded service to operate up to 31 March 2011.

In Northern Ireland around 14,270 claimants in receipt of Income Support, Income Based Jobseeker’s Allowance and Pension Credit also receive Support for Mortgage Interest. The purpose of this assistance is to help them remain in their homes by providing reasonable contribution toward mortgage interest costs in order to secure the home.

Mortgage Rescue Scheme

Mr P Weir asked the Minister for Social Development for an update on the proposed Mortgage Rescue scheme.

(AQW 461/11)

Minister for Social Development: Bids made by my Department in previous monitoring rounds to obtain the funding for a full Mortgage Rescue scheme have been unsuccessful. In the absence of funding to launch the financial-rescue element of the mortgage rescue scheme, I provided funding for Housing Rights to operate a pilot Mortgage Debt Advice Service. This specialised service is preventing where at all possible, people here from becoming homeless as a consequence of housing related debt. It is anticipated that proposals for a Mortgage Rescue Scheme will take two elements: prevention and intervention. The prevention element of the scheme would provide advice to people either facing or actually in arrears to explore the options available to them. The intervention element would potentially help people facing repossession to sell their home either in full or in part to a housing association and then rent it back.

Community Faiths Forum

Mr S Anderson asked the Minister for Social Development to detail the process by which appointments were made to the Community Faiths Forum.

(AQW 547/11)

Minister for Social Development: Invitations to join the Community Faiths’ Pilot Forum were formally made by the Churches Community Work Alliance Northern Ireland (CCWA (NI))), the body contracted by the Department for Social Development (DSD) to manage the pilot forum until March 2012. Invitations were issued following consultation with officials from the Voluntary and Community Unit of DSD who have engaged with leaders and members from across a wide range of Northern Ireland churches and faith based organisations as part of their work in the voluntary and community sector over a prolonged period.

The nominations were restricted to active faith practitioners working in faith based social action projects whose working remit was clearly linked to the policy priorities of this Department (tackling poverty, urban regeneration, community development, housing and volunteering). CCWA (NI) worked closely with DSD officials to ensure a wide range of faith based organisations were included in the make up of the pilot forum.

In an effort to identify appropriate appointees from the small minority (non-Christian) faiths, officials sought advice from colleagues in the Race Relations Unit of the Office of the First Minister and deputy First Minister (OFMdFM) to identify individuals from minority faith backgrounds best placed to influence the future involvement of their faith communities in projects designed to tackle disadvantage, exclusion and marginalisation.

I am aware that a concern has been raised about the breadth of representation. People were invited to participate on the basis of the relevance of their experience. Nonetheless, I met with representatives from The Caleb Foundation recently and am looking at ways to broaden participation in the forum.

Community Faiths Forum

Mr S Anderson asked the Minister for Social Development to detail the role to be fulfilled by the pilot Community Faiths Forum.

(AQW 548/11)

Minister for Social Development: The Community Faiths’ Forum will provide opportunity for experienced social action practitioners from across a range of faith based organisations to engage in discussion and advise government officials on issues specifically relevant to the work of the Department for Social Development.

The members of the pilot forum will share learning and best practice about the contribution made by faith groups in meeting the needs of our most deprived communities and in new emerging minority communities. The forum will seek to identify ways faith organisations might seek to become more effective partners with government, public services, private and voluntary sector organisations to increase the support available locally to meet the needs of the disadvantaged, marginalised and excluded people in our community. I believe there may be untapped expertise and potential within the faith community that might be usefully availed of.

Disability Living Allowance

Mr A Ross asked the Minister for Social Development (i) when the term 'for life' was changed to 'indefinitely' in relation to Disability Living Allowance recipients; (ii) to define the meaning of the term 'for life' when it was given; and (iii) if a recipient was previously told he/she would be in receipt of DLA 'for life' whether this status can later be revoked.

(AQW 554/11)

Minister for Social Development: (i) The term ‘for life’ was changed to ‘for a indefinite period’ by an amendment to the Social Security Contributions and Benefits (Northern Ireland) Act 1992 made by the Welfare Reform and Pensions (Northern Ireland) Order 1999 which came into operation on 12 January 2000. (ii) Awards for life were awards that would continue for the lifetime of the individual subject to the entitlement conditions remaining satisfied. The change to the wording was made because the term ‘life award’ gave the impression that an award, once given, was immutable. The change had no substantive effect as previously an award could always be reviewed and changed in line with a change in circumstances. (iii) There has been provision to review any award where it becomes apparent that a material change of circumstances has occurred which may affect the rate at which one or both of the components of disability living allowance may be payable.

Disability Living Allowance

Mr J Spratt asked the Minister for Social Development how many people in each constituency are currently in receipt of Disability Living Allowance.

(AQW 580/11)

Minister for Social Development: The information requested is set out in the table below. The figures show the number of claims where Disability Living Allowance was in payment at September 2010.

Parliamentary Constituency	Recipients
Belfast East	8,785
Belfast North	14,665
Belfast South	8,262
Belfast West	17,385
East Antrim	7,201
East Londonderry	8,198
Fermanagh And South Tyrone	9,171
Foyle	13,629
Lagan Valley	7,689
Mid Ulster	10,062
Newry And Armagh	11,988
North Antrim	8,306
North Down	6,154
South Antrim	7,843
South Down	10,866
Strangford	7,267
Upper Bann	12,722
West Tyrone	12,655
Unallocated Recipients*	1,455
Total	184,303

* Recipients are allocated to a constituency by postcode. In some cases this is not possible, for example, a postcode may be missing, incomplete or incorrectly recorded.

Department's Press and Information Office

Mr A Easton asked the Minister for Social Development how many staff are currently employed in the his Department's press and information office; and what is the annual salary cost for this office.

(AQW 585/11)

Minister for Social Development: The Department for Social Development has an Information Office which consists of 18 staff and provides a wide range of services one of which includes contact with the press and media. The annual salary cost for Information Office is £536,000.

The DSD Information Office includes external and internal communications, web site development and maintenance, and marketing. By designing literature in-house and providing an events management service, the Marketing Team has saved the Department £77,000 in the last three years.

Housing Executive

Mr A Easton asked the Minister for Social Development whether the Housing Executive has a separate press and information office; if so, how many people work there and what is the annual salary cost for this office.

(AQW 586/11)

Minister for Social Development: The Housing Executive does not have a dedicated press office. The Housing Executive has an Information Department providing a wide range of services including contact with the press and media.

Within the Information Department there are eight members of staff, part of whose responsibility is media/press communications. This activity is only part of their remit. The element relating to press office duties has been calculated as some £71k.

External Media Professionals

Mr A Easton asked the Minister for Social Development if his Department or any of its agencies have hired external media professionals in an advisory capacity in any of the last three financial years.

(AQW 590/11)

Minister for Social Development: The Department for Social Development have not hired any external media professionals in an advisory capacity in any of the last three years.

Disability Living Allowance

Mr P Weir asked the Minister for Social Development how many current Disability Living Allowance awards have been awarded for (i) an indefinite period; and (ii) a time-limited period.

(AQW 599/11)

Minister for Social Development: At May 2010 there were 184,924 claimants entitled to Disability Living Allowance. Of these (i)142,054 people were awarded the benefit for an indefinite period, and (ii) 42,870 people were awarded the benefit for a time-limited period.

Child Poverty

Mr D McKay asked the Minister for Social Development what action he is taking to address child poverty.

(AQW 670/11)

Minister for Social Development: I am committed to tackling disadvantage and poverty amongst the most in need within our society. My Department’s work therefore includes many programmes and policies aimed at tackling deprivation amongst one of our most vulnerable groups – children and young people. This work includes:

- Providing financial support for parents through the social security system and through the delivery of better child support arrangements;

- Increasing opportunities for children and young people in our most deprived areas through the Neighbourhood Renewal Strategy;

- Raising the standards of housing available for young people and families in both the private rented and social housing sectors;

- Tackling fuel poverty in the most vulnerable households through our Fuel Poverty Strategy; and

- Funding the provision of advice and volunteer services and a range of programmes, such as the areas at risk programme which have a direct impact on the lives of families in most need.

The continuance of the work is crucial if we are to have any hope of improving the live chances of thousands of children and young people across Northern Ireland. I will therefore be seeking to prioritise this and the other work which my Department carries out which impacts on the most disadvantaged through the next Programme for Government and the 2011 – 15 Budget.

Citizens Advice Bureau

Mr T Clarke asked the Minister for Social Development how much funding his Department has allocated to the Citizens Advice Bureau in each of the last five years; and what proportion this represents of the Citizens Advice Bureau's overall budget.

(AQW 675/11)

Minister for Social Development: Funding provided by my Department to the Citizens Advice Bureau (CAB) regional body, in each of the last five years, is detailed in the answer to AQW 469/11.

It is not possible to determine the proportion DSD funding represents to Citizens Advice Bureau's overall budget for each of the last 5 years as they have not yet published their accounts for 09/10 and 10/11. However, Departmental funding to CAB’s regional body for the 06/07, 07/08 and 08/09 financial years would indicate that it represents approximately 52% of their total income.

Housing Executive in Banbridge

Mr J O'Dowd asked the Minister for Social Development how many people have contacted the Housing Executive in Banbridge in the last six months seeking to be rehoused as a result of being intimidated out of their homes.

(AQW 682/11)

Minister for Social Development: In the last six months less than five households contacted the Housing Executive and presented themselves as homeless in Banbridge. The Housing Executive does not routinely confirm the numbers to ensure that the individuals/householders cannot be identified.

Social Security Fraud

Mr J Craig asked the Minister for Social Development for a breakdown, by job type, of people caught carrying out Social Security fraud in the each of the last three years.

(AQW 713/11)

Minister for Social Development: It is not possible to extract from the current benefit fraud systems a breakdown by occupation of people caught committing benefit fraud.

House of Multiple Location Licences

Ms A Lo asked the Minister for Social Development if he will consider building anti-social behaviour clauses into House of Multiple Location licences, as is currently the practise in Scotland, with the option to revoke the licence if anti-social behaviour is not addressed by the licence holder.

(AQW 720/11)

Minister for Social Development: The Housing Executive’s Statutory HMO Registration Scheme already provides for special control provisions to be applied in respect of certain areas where there are serious problems associated with anti-social behaviour. Currently the only area specified in the Scheme is the Holylands in South Belfast. These special control provisions allow the Housing Executive to impose conditions of registration on individual HMOs in this area. These conditions include a requirement that a tenancy agreement must include clauses relating to tenant behaviour. A further condition is that proportionate action should be taken to address any anti-social behaviour by an occupant, provided there are sufficient links between the dwelling and the behaviour. Failure to adhere to these conditions could result in individual registrations being refused or revoked. Under the terms of the current registration scheme, it is not possible to denote individual houses to be subject to special control provisions, if they are outside a specified area.

My officials are currently reviewing the operation of the HMO registration scheme. One of the areas being looked at is ways of creating a greater link between individual’s anti-social behaviour and the conditions of registration to enable more robust action to be taken in the event of such behaviour and to ensure landlords take responsibility for the proper management of their houses.

Investigations into Events Within the Housing Executive

Mr F McCann asked the Minister for Social Development how many investigations are currently underway into events within the Housing Executive and if the PSNI are involved in the investigations.

(AQW 950/11)

Minister for Social Development: There are currently six investigations into events within the Housing Executive. There are two being investigated by the police, one by the ombudsman and three being conducted through appropriate internal Housing Executive processes.

There are of course, other matters under investigation which impinge on the work of the Housing Executive and which don't raise issues about the conduct of the Housing Executive itself, for example the conduct of tenants or a private landlord.

NORTHERN IRELAND ASSEMBLY COMMISSION

Assembly Employees Salaries

Mr G Savage asked the Assembly Commission how many Assembly employees earn a higher salary than the First and deputy First Minister; and to list the job title and salary of each of post.

(AQW 553/11)

The Representative of the Assembly Commission (Mr P Ramsey ): The salary of the First Minister and deputy First Minister is made up of two distinct elements namely the salary as a Member of the legislative Assembly and an Officer Holders’ salary. A Member’s salary is £43,101 per annum and the Officer Holders’ salary for the First and deputy First Ministers is £71,434 giving a total salary of £114,535 per annum. There are currently no employees of the Assembly Commission who earn a higher salary.

Expenditure for the Assembly Secretariat

Ms S Ramsey asked the Assembly Commission for a breakdown of the amount spent in this mandate by each Directorate of the Assembly Secretariat.

(AQW 634/11)

The Representative of the Assembly Commission (Mr P Ramsey ): Expenditure for the Assembly Secretariat is broken down into four distinct categories which are used for expenditure reporting namely Staff Salaries, General Administrative Expenditure (GAE), Non Cash Costs and Capital. Capital projects often encompass more than one Directorate so their costs are not attributed to a specific Directorate. For this reason, the Capital expenditure for this mandate is shown as a total in the table below. Similarly, Non Cash Costs (such as depreciation of assets and notional charges) are not allocated to a specific Directorate. These costs are also shown, in total, below.

The table below is based on the current structure for the Assembly Secretariat (which was introduced in April 2008) up to the end of the 2009/10 financial year. They exclude the costs associated with Members (such as Members’ salaries or allowances) except those costs which are incurred on Committee Business.

Assembly Secretariat Expenditure May 2007 – 31 March 2010
Directorate Name	Salaries	GAE	Total
Director General's Office	£4,786,500	£1,471,500	£6,258,000
Clerking & Reporting	£15,343,400	£941,200	£16,284,600
Resources	£7,684,100	£2,101,600	£9,785,700
Engagement	£7,442,800	£5,758,900	£13,201,700
Facilities	£8,216,000	£17,220,700	£25,436,700
Total Resources	£43,472,800	£27,493,900	£70,966,700
Total Non Cash Costs			£23,954,000
Total Capital			£4,221,000

The entities within each Directorate are as follows;

Directorate	Business Area
Director General’s Office	Corporate Policy Unit
	Commission Support & Compliance Unit
	Legal Services
	Internal Audit
	Examiner of Statutory Rules
	Speaker's Office
Clerking & Reporting	Business Office
	Bill Office
	Central Committee Office
	Statutory & Committees
	Official Report (Hansard)
Resources	Finance Office
	HR Office
	Procurement Office
	IS Office
Engagement	Research & Library
	Communications Office
	Outreach & Education
Facilities	Building Services
	Support Services
	Security Services
	Sustainable Development

REVISED WRITTEN ANSWERS

Friday 8 October 2010

(AQW 8266/10)

Tá tugtha le fios ag Príomhfheidhmeannaigh na mBord Oideachais agus Leabharlainne dom gur mar seo a leanas líonta na mball foirne atá fostaithe i riarachán lárnach agus as sin na líonta a bhfuil poist shealadacha acu nó a bhfuil arduithe céime sealadacha acu:

I have been advised by the Chief Executives of the Education and Library Boards of the following numbers of staff employed in central administration and of these the numbers in temporary positions and temporary promotions:

Board Area	Staff Employed	Temporary Positions	Temporary Promotion Positions
BELB	166	29	4
NEELB	320	42	62
SELB	243	40	70
SEELB	177	26	57
WELB	281	49	46

i BELB figure includes staff in the Chief Executive’s, Finance and Technical & Services Departments.

ii NEELB figure includes staff in the Finance, Administration and Chief Executive’s Departments and those administrative and management staff in the Education Department.

iii SELB figure includes staff in the Chief Executive’s, Financial Support Services, Human Resources, Support & Property Services Departments and the 5 Board Central Management Support Unit.

iv SEELB figure includes staff in the Chief Executive’s, Administration and Finance Departments.

v WELB figure includes staff in the Chief Executive’s, Services, Finance Departments and admin support staff within Children & Young People’s Services and Teaching, Learning, Curriculum & Youth Departments.